Every child in school and ready to learn by 2050:

Every child deserves an education that helps them flourish, but too many children are unable to access an education that serves them. There is a monumental barrier to opportunity for many children which we must break down.

Too many children are missing school too often. Almost one in five children in the UK are still persistently absent from school, meaning they are missing ten percent of their education, equivalent to four school weeks. If children aren’t in school and ready to learn, their wellbeing, development and future life chances risk being damaged.

Our plan for the new Government

Our route map calls on the Government to commit to an ambitious ‘moonshot’ goal to see every child in school and ready to learn by 2050. This can only be achieved by investing in a support-led and family-centric approach, with ‘radical collaboration’ between all partners, and with a focus on understanding and removing barriers to attendance.

The route map uses a holistic focus to inform the policy recommendations. We want to see:

• Families supported and engaged, with the complex barriers to attendance understood and addressed, and parents engaged with their child’s learning.

• Schools supportive and supported, encouraged and rewarded for best practice with families.

• Local services that are collaborative and preventative, with the whole community responsible for attendance and funded to give schools and families the support they need.

We set out what the Government should achieve in the first 100 days, the first year, and the first five years, to move the country towards an inclusive education system which provides opportunities for all children.