COUNCIL chiefs have welcomed the progress made at an emergency summit to address the shocking statistics in a national report which placed the district 310th out of 324 local authorites for social mobility in the UK.
A county-wide summit was held to address the problems raised by the Social Mobility Commission report and comes just months after council chiefs pledged a further £30,000 to tackle the problems raised in the report.
Headteachers joined councillors, Worcestershire County Council representatives, Babcock representatives as well as the Regional Schools Commissioner Christine Quinn for the meeting at Wychavon’s base in Pershore.
The summit was held in response to the district’s poor social mobility standing which is at odds with its Halifax Quality of Life Survey result as the third best place to live in 2018.
Its aim was to start to get a better understanding of the issues and examined what could be done from early years through to young adulthood to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds to ensure they get the best start in life.
District council leader, Coun Linda Robinson, said: “I called for this summit because I was dismayed at the area’s standing for social mobility.
“I feel we have taken a landmark step towards starting to really understand the causes behind the district’s poor ranking and we now have some ideas how we could support partners to push for success.”
Many ideas were discussed at the event and this will be turned into an action plan that will be used to move the issue forward.
Catherine Driscoll, Worcestershire Director of Children, Families and Communities said “Coming from a household that didn’t even own a book when I was a child social mobility is a topic close to my heart.
“In 2018 where you start all too often determines where you finish. We recognise the need for better life chances for all children in Wychavon and we are committed to work with Wychavon on how to make this a reality.”
