To ask the Minister of Education for his assessment of the current relationship between educational attainment and social disadvantage, and the perceived inequality in outcomes for school age students from the most deprived areas.

The Department’s evidence, based on a census of all schools/pupils, confirms that social deprivation, as measured by Free School Meals, is strongly correlated with and reflective of educational disadvantage and lower educational attainment. This is very much in line with international evidence which also reports the strong correlation between pupils’ socio-economic background and their outcomes in education.

Despite improving outcomes at all stages, the attainment gap between our most and least deprived pupils remains. This inequality in outcomes is a reality not a perception.

In 2013, 34.9% (one third) of school leavers entitled to free school meals (FSME) achieved 5 or more GCSEs at A*-C (or equivalent) including English and maths compared to 68.4% (two thirds) of leavers not entitled free school meals. In 2012/13 pupil level data was received for the first time for primary school-age pupils. The figures show that 62.6% of FSME pupils achieved the expected level (Level 4) or above in Communication compared to 82.9% of non-FSME pupils and 64.1% of FSME pupils achieved the expected level (Level 4) or above in Using Mathematics compared to 84.2% of non-FSME pupils.

This lower level of achievement amongst pupils from socially disadvantaged backgrounds is consistent with levels of poverty, a lack of social mobility and a pattern of educational inequality. These factors impact on a child’s education pathway from their earliest years.

The evidence shows that pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds have greater obstacles to overcome. Their schools need additional resources to help them do this. That is why I have redistributed school funding to target schools with high numbers of pupils from socially disadvantaged backgrounds and injected a further £10 million specifically targeting social deprivation into school budgets from April 2014.

I have also continued to implement policies and provide funding for a range of additional interventions, with a focus on improving standards and tackling educational underachievement. However, there are two other key issues.

Firstly, a socially balanced education system enables all pupils to perform better. While some schools persist in the use of academic selection, we will be unable to eradicate this social division.

Secondly, inequality in outcomes is a societal issue and one that education authorities and schools cannot tackle on their own. The challenge of tackling inequalities, be they educational, health or economic, is one that we all face and success will depend on all stakeholders working together in order to achieve greater equity in our society.