Learning
In 2007 the Social Justice Policy Group made the following recommendations to the UK Conservative Party, recognising the overarching role of education in addressing issues of social cohesion
'This report from the Social Justice Policy Group, chaired by Iain Duncan Smith, identifies five 'pathways' to poverty and makes proposals for tackling them. These pathways are: educational failure, family breakdown, economic dependence, indebtedness and addictions. A sixth section considers how the third sector might be better supported to help people escape poverty. Here we concentrate on those pathways that the National Literacy Trust (NLT) judges to have the most relation to literacy: educational failure and family breakdown. In each case we provide a summary of the proposals and a response that considers the NLT's role in fulfilling them'.
1 Educational failure
The policy proposals fall under three main headings: 'Every parent matters', 'Better school leadership' and 'Creating a culture of learning'.
Every parent matters
This theme focuses on:
Responsibility – every school to have a 'Home- school charter' setting out the rights and responsibilities of parents, teachers and children.
Involvement – 'Be a credit to your child' courses, targeted at deprived areas, to show parents how children learn and how they can help. They would be run by the school or local alternative providers and would build on the pre- school support proposed in a 'family breakdown report'.
Support – 'Home-school support champions' to work full- time in schools in deprived areas, helping parents to support their children's education. These would be members of the local community and would focus on engaging with parents and identifying the issues underlying children's poor behaviour and attainment, tackling children's and parents' needs at an early stage – including referring them to family literacy provision.
Empowerment – parents of disadvantaged children who fulfil their obligations under the Home- school charter and attend a 'Be a credit to your child' course would be eligible for a £500 per year credit to be spent on extra tuition, which could include extra literacy support.
Parental and third sector groups would also have greater powers to set up new schools, called 'Pioneer schools'. Parents of children at poorly- performing schools would have freedom to move their child (with the funding for that pupil) to another state school if their school failed to improve over a three-year period.
Better school leadership
Proposals to reduce bureaucracy for head teachers include creating a 'Disadvantaged primary school personnel fund' (to reduce the administrative burden on heads and to increase their pay) and improving head teacher training (including through an MA qualification in leading schools in deprived areas).
Creating a culture of learning
This theme has three key objectives: universal literacy and numeracy, improved pupil behaviour and an engaging curriculum that increases love of learning. The report makes the following proposals:

Family literacy classes – much greater use of these is proposed, at both pre- school level (through the 'Family service hubs' recommended under the family breakdown proposals) and through primary schools.
Booster classes for pupils falling behind –specialised literacy and numeracy teams would provide these for children falling behind in English and maths. Reading Recovery is an example of an approach that could be taken.

The report highlights the following features of successful literacy programmes:
  • Individual mentoring
  • Parental involvement
  • Early intervention
  • Small, specialist groups for under-achieving pupils
  • Expert tuition from specialist teachers, assistants and volunteers from the community, including third sector groups
Improving pupil behaviour – through more alternatives to Pupil Referral Units, including specialist programmes on the school site and the expansion of funds for third sector providers, and through managing the transition from primary to secondary school more carefully. The report cites evidence that poorly behaved children are more likely to have problems with literacy and numeracy, as well as to come from disadvantaged families, to be bored with academic work and lacking in confidence and enthusiasm, and to suffer disruption in the transition to secondary school. It also points out that improving family involvement and literacy skills may be to no avail if this transition is poorly managed, and that courses for parents, home- school support workers and family learning activities could be methods of improving the transition period.
Pathways to success – more vocational and practical options should be available for secondary school pupils, so increasing their confidence, communication skills, literacy and numeracy skills (as these are built into practical tasks, allowing young people to understand their usefulness) and other qualities valued by business.
Building better links with business and the community – a much more significant role is envisaged for the third sector in supporting literacy and numeracy. More tax relief could encourage investment and involvement in schools from local businesses and individuals.
The report also highlights some characteristics of the successful schools its authors visited in the UK and abroad. These include:
  • A strong emphasis on literacy and numeracy, including regular assessments and extra support for pupils who are struggling.
  • Fostering a love of reading.
  • Encouraging reading at home with parents.
  • Engaging families (including the extended family) in the life of the school as much as possible (eg encouraging grandparents to be library assistants) to reinforce the message that education is a key part of family life.
  • Encouraging pupils to take personal responsibility for their own lives and not be trapped by their circumstances – through raising their expectations and fostering habits of diligence, thoroughness and self- discipline.
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