I’m rarely shocked or even greatly surprised by statistics that show how unequal life chances are in this country, but I was astounded by some of the findings in the independent inquiry into white working class educational outcomes, for which I was a board member. There are many, but how about this one – only 36 per cent of white working class children achieve grade 4s in English and maths GCSEs at the age of 16, compared with 72 per cent of the whole cohort not on free school meals. Those findings have helped to shine a light on the fundamental misalignment between what many children, young people and their families want from the education system and what they are being offered. A misalignment that for far too long has been denied or overlooked by government, in the vain belief that ‘making the current system work better’ will close the enormous educational and life outcomes gaps driven by social class. First of all, the report completely dismisses the myth that poor outcomes are somehow the fault of the children and young people themselves, as did the recent Milburn review report on young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs). White working class families and children do not lack ambition or potential, but they are not experiencing an education system they believe is meeting their needs or aspirations. Time and again, the surveys, roundtables and interviews revealed a fundamental lack of belief that ‘education is designed for people like me’. For instance, only 43 per cent of parents believe that their child is learning skills they will use in real life. That misalignment and lack of belief in education results, as the report shows, in large numbers of children disengaging with education because they do not believe it will help them in their lives. One headteacher said that absence has almost become normalised across groups of children and their families. And the data is shocking, with 38 per cent of white children on free school meals being persistently absent and 5 per cent severely absent. So much for the shocking statistics, and there are many others that we should all be ashamed about. But it is not a report without hope; the inquiry found lots of schools and colleges doing excellent work to buck the trends. For colleges, there is good recognition of the work they do to help young people belong and engage with a curriculum that inspires and motivates them. The report talks about colleges “as environments where many white working class young people successfully re-engage with education after difficult experiences in school”. The report sets out a vision of hope and a call to arms, with pragmatic and well-thought through recommendations. For us in post-16, there are good recommendations to properly invest in colleges, in apprenticeships and in new higher education pathways that can be accessed locally. There’s also a focus on free public transport for all under 21s which would be a major enabler for all learners. I do hope that this work gets the consideration it deserves. Across the education system, we can and must do better, because the ambitions and potential of too many children will continue to be wasted if we dbon’t. I also hope that the government and the education system collaborate now to implement the recommendations and rise to the call for action so that this picture changes, and changes soon.