Five asks, two years on

In 2024, in the run up to the general election, Class Divide published a manifesto. Five things the next government had to do so that children from low-income families and communities could thrive in education. Two years on, the country has a new Prime Minister. Andy Burnham has arrived in Number 10 talking about the cost of living and about devolving power out of Westminster, and this week his government capped bus fares at two pounds. So Curtis and Carlie got the manifesto back out and marked their own homework. They go through it ask by ask. Admissions, where Brighton and Hove has done something no other council in the country has done, and where national policy still has not followed. Transport, where Class Divide's own research found parents going without essentials and borrowing money to pay school bus fares. Pupil premium, and where that money really ends up. And getting more people from working-class backgrounds into teaching. Then a sixth ask, one that was not in the 2024 manifesto and probably should have been. Devolution moves decisions closer to places. It does not change who is making them. Links Class Divide Website: https://www.classdivide.co.uk Donate: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/classdivide Newsletter: https://classdivide.us21.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=1c5772fc8b8d98ea48693b0ee&id=c56f60a0c1 The 2024 manifesto https://www.classdivide.co.uk/news/introducing-our-new-manifesto Ask one: admissions The Schools Adjudicator determination on Brighton and Hove Class Divide for the Sutton Trust, "Inclusion through admissions: How a community brought about change in Brighton and Hove" Burgess, Cantillon, Cavallo and Greaves, Modifying school choice for more equitable access in England Ask two: transport "One in three Brighton and Hove parents go without essentials or borrow money to pay school bus fares" Ask three: school funding and the attainment gap Education Policy Institute Annual Report 2026 Ask four: working-class teachers The Independent Inquiry into White Working Class Educational Outcomes Listen back to Series 1 and Series 2 Class Divide podcast page: https://www.classdivide.co.uk/podcast Follow Class Divide Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/divideclass.bsky.social Threads: https://www.threads.net/@divideclass Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divideclass/ Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/classdividecampaign/ 13891a5f147d56bdfdb6d2baaec6d90cceceb716 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.