Responding to a report from the National Foundation for
Educational Research (NFER), which states that the
socio-emotional skills of young people in England are weaker than
many of their peers in other countries, Pepe Di'Iasio, General
Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:
“Socio-emotional skills are important not just in the workplace
but for forming strong and successful relationships in all areas
of life, and the inequalities identified in this report are
concerning.
“We agree that more needs to be done to support the social and
emotional development of all children from a young age. Improving
access to early years education is key to closing the
disadvantage gap, and this will require an uplift in funding and
staffing levels. Creating a long-term workforce strategy for the
early years sector, as suggested in this report, would be a good
place to start.
“We also agree with the need for targeted funding for
disadvantaged pupils in 16-19 education. We have long called for
reform of the pupil premium to provide funding for disadvantaged
16 to 19 year-olds which matches that for younger pupils.
Educational inequalities do not disappear at this age, and this
should be reflected in funding levels to ensure schools and
colleges are able to support all students as they prepare to
enter the workplace or engage in further study.”
