Scarborough named as social ‘coldspot’

Social mobility in the borough is one of the worst in country

Scarborough is in danger of becoming an “entrenched social mobility coldspot”, according to a new report

The latest findings from the Social Mobility Commission show London, in particular, is pulling away when it comes to boosting opportunities for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, while areas like Scarborough are being left further behind.

The 2017 State of the Nation report ranks all 324 local authorities in England in terms of their social mobility prospects for someone from a disadvantaged background.

It uses a range of 16 indicators for every major life stage, from early years through to working lives, to map the country’s social mobility hotspots and coldspots.

Out of 324 Scarborough comes in at 295.

The town also comes in the bottom 10 for social mobility relating to school pupils.

The report notes: “Getting into good-quality schools is also challenging for children on free school meals in Yorkshire and The Humber, with the third lowest rates of access to decent primary and secondary schools.

“With fewer than one in three children on free school meals achieving the expected standard at key stage 2, the region has the lowest primary attainment in England.

“This drops to fewer than one in five in Scarborough and Selby. This may reflect the fact that, at 18.2, the pupil–teacher ratio in Yorkshire and The Humber is the second highest in England.”

It went on: “Low performance is also characteristic of deprived coastal areas or towns in semi-rural areas. These areas have an ageing population, suffer from socio-economic deprivation and intergenerational unemployment. Indeed, rural and coastal areas make up a high proportion of the lowest performers in primary schools (e.g. Scarborough) as well as secondary schools.” However, it does praise the new Scarborough Councilbacked Coventry University Campus in Weaponness.

The report states: “Local authorities, schools and universities can all help compensate for limited access to higher education. Local authorities can offer travel bursaries to enable poorer youngsters to study degree courses at further education colleges. Universities can partner with further education colleges or open satellite campuses in areas with no higher education, as Coventry University did in Scarborough.

“In 2014, Coventry University opened a new Scarborough campus in an area where young people were cut off from higher education. The campus offers courses that match local employers’ needs and are compatible with work and caring responsibilities.”

The report follows on the heels of a report earlier this year, also from the Social Mobility Commission, which said Scarborough was the “low pay capital of the UK,”

The resort was named as the local authority with the lowest mean pay in Britain. Last year the average salary was just £19,925, compared with a national average of £28,442, according to the annual survey of hours and pay carried out by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The report calls on the Government to fund transport links to enable schools and businesses in rural and coastal areas to grow. It also states local councils should pay the living wage.”

Fewer than one in five pupils in Scarborough get expected Key Stage 2 standard