The scale, persistence and complexity of the white working class disadvantage gap mean there is no single policy, institution or intervention capable of resolving it alone.
The evidence gathered through this Inquiry points to a challenge that is deeply systemic and deeply entrenched. The recommendations set out in this report therefore reflect the scale of that challenge. They are intended not as a short-term package of isolated reforms, but as part of a broad, long-term, national effort to rebuild the white working class educational experience.
Improving outcomes for this group will require action across the whole system. Government has an essential role to play, but schools, colleges, universities, employers, local authorities, combined authorities, charities, community organisations, civic institutions, funders, researchers and families themselves will all need to contribute to this effort over many years. No single part of the system can solve these challenges alone.
The recommendations that follow are split across 5 categories: recommendations that apply across the system, to early and primary education, to secondary education, to tertiary education, and to teachers.
This work must also endure beyond individual governments and political cycles. The challenges described in this report have developed over decades and will take many years to overcome. Sustained improvement will therefore require long-term commitment across successive governments, alongside stability, consistency and shared national ambition.
Some of the recommendations set out here could be implemented relatively quickly. Others will require significant investment, structural reform or longer-term system change. Together, they are intended to form the foundations of a decade-long national effort to close the white working class disadvantage gap and rebuild confidence that education is something to value, to enjoy, and to trust as a meaningful route to opportunity, stability and success.
The Inquiry also believes that improving outcomes for white working class children and young people must not solely become a conversation about deficits, problems and underachievement. Throughout this work, children, families and communities have spoken powerfully about the joy, pride, humour, identity and sense of community that comes with being white working class. The task is not to change these communities, but to build an education system that better recognises, values and builds upon the strengths already within them.
Finally, the Inquiry recognises that important gaps in evidence and understanding remain. White working class underachievement remains significantly under-researched relative to the scale of the challenge. Further research, evaluation and evidence-building will therefore be critical to improving outcomes over time. The Inquiry intends to continue contributing to this work beyond the publication of this report, including through further research, convening and collaboration across the education sector and beyond.