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Barnardo's says state school admissions system favours better-off

Poor children, already lagging behind more affluent peers in educational achievement, are held back by socially selective school admissions, according to Barnardo's, one of the UK's leading children's charities. These students tend to lose out on the top school places to better-off peers whose parents understand the complexities of the system and the important role that factors - such as moving house, hiring private tutors or attending church more regularly - can play in ensuring a better education for their children.

Disadvantaged families find the current school admissions system challenging. Frequent house moves, a lack of spoken or written English, disability or learning difficulty and domestic violence are just some of the circumstances that cause many poorer parents to fail to submit an application for a school place at all. Even when they are aware that there is 'a race for the best schools', many find it impossible to navigate the complex, and often unfair, admissions process.

Barnardo's report, Unlocking the gates: Giving disadvantaged children a fairer deal in school admission (link opens in a new window) outlines how widening access to good neighbourhood schools has a critical role to play in narrowing the opportunity gap in education.

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