Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission

The Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission is an advisory Non-Departmental Public Body of the Department for Education. It was created by the Child Poverty Act 2010, as amended by the Welfare Reform Act 2012.

Its role is "to monitor the progress of the United Kingdom government and others in improving social mobility and reducing child poverty".

Children born to poverty stricken families may have a harder time moving upward socially than their peers born to privilege. Factors may include the county in which one attends school, the opportunities afforded due to the school one attends, and the availability of parents while a child is in school. For example, this passionately written article on children in low income schools states " Money and education go hand in hand. When money is lacking there is more testing, a lack of options for scholars due to the lack of programs, and this makes it all harder. It is harder to give students the necessary tools to push through a flawed system that diverts their dreams from the moment they are born, from the moment they enter school" (Strauss). This highlights several issues from the opportunities to succeed, Strauss also talks about students from upper class schools being awarded scholarships to go to conferences, they miss days of school and are applauded for doing wonderful things in the world. There is opportunity for those in affluent areas that is not always there for those in poverty stricken areas. Parents factor into their children's future in many ways as well. Some of the factors include their daily presence in their children's lives. If a parent is not around to help a child with their homework, the child may not have the same education provided to them as a child whose parents are present. Parents may be absent due to work, and it may be because they have a high power job that requires long hours, or it may be because they are working to make ends meet. However, for those students whose parents make more money, it is more likely the parents will hire a tutor or other care provider to fill the role they cannot. "In the past 40 years, families with the highest social standing have increased spending in the areas of SAT prep, private tutors, computers, music lessons, astoundingly they moved from spending $3,500 to nearly $9,000, that's an increase of $5,500 per child every year. In contrast, the families with a significantly lower income have increased their spending from by a mere $450 dollars, equating to a total of $1500" (Greenstone)

The main responsibilities of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission include:

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