A Primary School's Role in Enacting Social Mobility

Pursuing a career in teaching and becoming a Head teacher of two schools would appear to be a strange career choice for a child who disliked school so much. However, it has given me the ability to reflect on my school days and analyse why I may have viewed school with such negativity. Conversely, as a Head teacher, I can act on those reflections to make a difference to the children who pass through our care. My first Head teacher in my first teaching role said to me that, while we may view schools as a place of employment, for the children, it is their only chance of a good education. This philosophy has stayed with me ever since. My first Headship coincided with Michael Wilshaw’s appointment as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Ofsted on the 1st January 2012. Wilshaw, along with the Education Secretary Michael Gove, set about blaming schools and teachers for mediocre standards (Rosen, 2013) and began to create a system that valued only exam results. Schools came under increasing pressure to meet ever-higher targets or face severe consequences. This resulted in harmful practices, such as narrowing the curriculum to concentrate on tested subjects and even ‘off-rolling’ children who were unlikely to meet those targets. Anybody who disagreed with the philosophies of Gove or Wilshaw was derided as members of the ‘blob’ who were ‘enemies of success.’ This study critically examines how neoliberal education policies have created a ‘myth of meritocracy’ where the position of dominant classes is maintained at the expense of others. This study also examines what schools can do in order to reduce the impact that disadvantage can have on the life chances of children from low socio-economic backgrounds. The empirical study that informed this thesis was carried out within a primary school and discusses, through a hermeneutic process, the views of stakeholders, namely school governors, teachers, parents, and children, on the strategies that reduce attainment gaps between children from different socio-economic groups. The study also discusses strategies that went beyond reducing gaps in progress and attainment, developing non-measured skills such as critical thinking, self-efficacy, and strong mental resilience. The findings have potential implications for policymakers, as they show that an education grounded in broader principles, such as self-development, self-efficacy, and critical thinking, is more likely to lead to success.