Podcasts about social mobility commission

​This week Rob Parsons speaks to one of the leading voices in the region, if not the country, on the all-important issue of how we can ensure everyone has a chance to succeed in life regardless of their background. The concept is also called social mobility, and in 2010 a body called the Social Mobility Commission was set up to hold the country and the Government of the day to account on whether things are actually improving in this respect. Its chair Alun Francis has years of experience on the ground trying to make the lives of young people better in the North. Currently, the Principal and Chief Executive of Blackpool and The Fylde College, he previously had the top job at Oldham College. It's the 15th anniversary of the Child Poverty Act this year, the legislation that brought the social mobility commission into being. So what better time to talk to Alun about why young people in the North are still being held back by where they're from, and importantly what we can do about it. The Northern Agenda is a Reach production, presented by Rob Parsons and produced by Daniel J. McLaughlin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Katharine Birbalsingh has many monikers: the founder and headmistress at Michaela Community School; chair of the Social Mobility Commission, an advisory body in England's Department for Education; Commander of the Order of the British Empire; honorary fellow at New College, Oxford; Britain's strictest headmistress; and of course, Miss Snuffy.In 2010, she was tapped to give a speech at Britain's Conservative Party conference, after which she was asked not to return to the school where she was employed. She eventually resigned and established her own school in 2014. A decade later, The Michaela Community School, a British free school comparable to an American charter school, which serves roughly 800 students ranging from eleven to eighteen, regularly boasts the highest growth scores of any K–12 educational institution in England. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Send us a Text Message.What is school for, and are exam grades a good measure of a human? Does someone's grades tell us what we should know, or are we being misled? Do grades help children grow and engage with learning, or do they simply destroy interest and entrench social divisions? These are the sort of questions that perplex many of us who are parenting teenagers.It's coming to the end of summer in the UK which means there's been a wave of exam results and the beautifully timed release of a terrific book called Exam Nation; why our obsession with grades fails everyone. Written by Sammy Wright, Headteacher of a secondary school in the North of England and part of the UK government's Social Mobility Commission for several years it was chosen by the BBC as book of the week, and applauded by reviewers across the serious newspapers in the UK, and I even found it laugh out loud funny at times. In this interview we talk about what school is for, the difficult transition from junior to secondary education, the need for tests and the way in which we view grades. Sammy offers up thought about other ways of looking at schooling which he thinks has become too transactional and would serve us better if it were more focused on the whole person.https://twitter.com/SamuelWright78https://www.amazon.co.uk/Exam-Nation-Obsession-Grades-Everyone/dp/1847927521/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=Support the Show.Thanks for listening. I don't have medical training so please seek the advice of a specialist if you're not coping. Please hit the follow button if you like our podcast, and share it with anyone who might benefit. You can review us on Apple podcasts by going to the show page, scrolling down to the bottom where you can click on a star then you can leave your message.Rachel's email is teenagersuntangled@gmail.com The website has a blog, searchable episodes, and ways to contact us:www.teenagersuntangled.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/teenagersuntangled/Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/teenagersuntangled/Susie is available for a free 15 minute consultation, and has a great blog:www.amindful-life.co.uk

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Sammy Wright about his new book 'Exam Nation',  including the challenges of assessing oracy and why, despite these challenges, it might still be worth doing.Sammy Wright is Head of School at a large secondary in Sunderland. He is the author of 'Exam Nation: Why Our Obsession with Grades Fails Everyone and a Better Way to Think about School'. Sammy sat on the government's Social Mobility Commission from 2018 to 2021, becoming a key voice in the debates over exam grades during the pandemic. He has taught for twenty years at schools in Oxfordshire, London and the North East.

Dr. Jordan B. Peterson sits down with the headmistress of the Michaela Community School, Katharine Birbalsingh. They discuss the importance of K-12 education, why it matters more than the universities in regard to the formation of thinking minds, how children can pursue both excellence and a life of dignity, and why strictness, absent tyranny, is the best form of education. Katharine Birbalsingh is Headmistress and co-founder of Michaela Community School and former Chair of the Social Mobility Commission. She is known as “Britain's Strictest Headmistress”, following the ITV documentary about Michaela. Michaela's Progress 8 score placed the school top in the country the last two years. In 2023, OFSTED graded the school as “Outstanding” in every category. Birbalsingh read “Philosophy & Modern Languages” at the University of Oxford and has always taught in inner London. She has made numerous appearances on television, radio, and podcasts and has written for several publications. Birbalsingh has also written two books and edited another two, the last of which is “The Power of Culture,” which is about Michaela.  Birbalsingh was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2020 and Honorary Fellow of New College, Oxford in 2021. This episode was recorded on June 15th, 2024  - Links - For Katharine Birbalsingh: On X https://x.com/miss_snuffy Documentary on the Michaela school  www.strictestheadmistress.com Website for the Michaela Community school in Wembley, London. Here you can sign up for a visit www.michaela.education 

John Craven, former Director of the UK's Social Mobility Commission and current Executive Officer of System 2 – a registered charity in Australia – explores social mobility from numerous angles, including education, employability, social networks and intergenerational dynamics. Among the various insights discussed, we explore how the school readiness gaps successfully tackled during children's early years can widen again in primary and secondary education. We also look at social mobility from a corporate angle and explore what companies can do in their recruitment and internal audits to ensure excellence not just in recruitment but also throughout career progression. This is a highly informative episode for anyone who cares about social mobility. Thank you for downloading this episode of the Do One Better Podcast. Visit our Knowledge Hub at Lidji.org for information on 250+ case studies and interviews with remarkable leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.   

Sociologist and  University of London Fellow Dr. Louise Ashley is a leading authority on social class, its effect on career progression and access to elite professions. In this episode of Show Me the Way, the author of “ Highly Discriminating: Why the City Isn't Fair and Diversity Doesn't Work” talks about what needs to be done to make the City less exclusive. She believes as well as focusing on diversity and recruitment, it needs to think about its impact on society at large. . We discuss that book title (and why she doesn't like it now),  social mobility, “fitting in” and why “confidence is often confused with competence”. As well as her recommendation for Emmeline's bookshelf. It's a good one! Dr Louise Ashley is a senior lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, and a Fellow of its Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences. A Sociologist studying how social class affects access to the elite professions, and subsequent career progression. Dr Ashley has published articles in leading academic journals and her research has been widely covered in media, both in the UK and internationally.  She specialises in researching diversity and inclusion in large multinational organisations and ‘elite' occupations with a particular focus on social mobility and social class. She has led teams appointed by the government's Social Mobility Commission to understand barriers to entry on the basis of socio-economic background, in law, accountancy and investment banking. Dr Ashley is a member of advisory boards including the social mobility charity UpReach and is a Research Fellow for the Bridge Group. She is also a working group member on the City of London Socioeconomic Diversity Taskforce. Books for Emmeline recommendation: The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper https://amzn.eu/d/h04sDhgFeel the Fear and do it Anyway by Susan Jeffers https://amzn.eu/d/iHGBiHB Dr Louise Ashley's Book: Highly Discriminating: Why the City Isn't Fair and Diversity Doesn't Work https://www.amazon.co.uk/Highly-Discriminating-City-Diversity-Doesnt/dp/1529227674    

Matt Goodwin is a professor of politics at The School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent in Kent, UK. His writing and research primarily focus on radical right-wing politics and Euroscepticism in the British context. Amongst others, his writing has appeared in publications such as The Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The Guardian, and the Evening Standard. He also serves on the Social Mobility Commission via the British Department of Education. Peter and Matt build upon their previous interview and discuss illegal immigration and its effects on society and politics. Matt predicts that mass migration will cause a political rightward shift and a severe backlash from the political left. Matt and Peter then discuss the consequences, including an increase in polarization as a result of the political tumult 2024 is likely to bring.More from Matt: Matt's previous interview with PeterTwitter/X SubstackWatch this episode on YouTube.

Dubbed ‘The World's Strictest Teacher', Katharine Birbalsingh CBE is the founder and head teacher of Michaela Community School, a free school established in 2014 in Wembley Park, London. She is an advocate for education reform and Chair of the Social Mobility Commission. The Michaela website: https://michaela.education/ We are proud partners with GiveSendGo - a world-leading crowdfunding platform that believes in free speech. Go to givesendgo.com and raise money for anything important to you. SPONSOR: Try Verso's incredible longevity products and get 15% off by using code TRIGGER at VER.SO Verso Scientific References: 1. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.868640/full 2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35844164/ 3. https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/10/6/456   Join our exclusive TRIGGERnometry community on Locals! https://triggernometry.locals.com/ OR Support TRIGGERnometry Here: Bitcoin: bc1qm6vvhduc6s3rvy8u76sllmrfpynfv94qw8p8d5 Music by: Music by: Xentric | info@xentricapc.com | https://www.xentricapc.com/ YouTube: @xentricapc Buy Merch Here: https://www.triggerpod.co.uk/shop/ Advertise on TRIGGERnometry: marketing@triggerpod.co.uk Join the Mailing List: https://www.triggerpod.co.uk/#mailinglist Find TRIGGERnometry on Social Media: https://twitter.com/triggerpod https://www.facebook.com/triggerpod/ https://www.instagram.com/triggerpod/ About TRIGGERnometry: Stand-up comedians Konstantin Kisin (@konstantinkisin) and Francis Foster (@francisjfoster) make sense of politics, economics, free speech, AI, drug policy and WW3 with the help of presidential advisors, renowned economists, award-winning journalists, controversial writers, leading scientists and notorious comedians.

Matt Goodwin is a professor of politics at School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent in Kent, UK. His writing and research primarily focuses on radical right-wing politics and Euroscepticism in the British context. Amongst others, his writing has appeared in publications such as The Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The Guardian, and the Evening Standard. He also serves on the Social Mobility Commission via the British Department of Education. In this conversation, Matt and I discussed the economic and political reality of immigration to the UK. Matt argues that, even though the UK is under a conservative government, the British population has been misled on the issue of immigration. We then discuss the future of Britain and the cultural effects of continued mass immigration.Connect with Matt: Matt on X/TwitterMatt's SubstackWatch this episode on YouTube.

Steven Cooper CBE is the CEO of Aldermore Group, a leading specialist lending and savings bank. Previously Steven was CEO of C.Hoare & Co and prior to that a Senior Executive at Barclays where he held a number of executive positions including CEO of Personal Banking for UK & Europe and CEO UK Business Banking. Steven is Chair of Experian UK, a NED of the recruitment firm Robert Walters PLC and he was a Co-Chair of the Social Mobility Commission until 2021. He is a passionate advocate for social mobility; he is a regular speaker and media commentator on the issue and has recently joined forces with former Cabinet Minister Justine Greening to form the Equality of Opportunity Coalition. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Herriot Watt University and made a Commander of the British Empire – both for services to Banking and Social Mobility. Steven's leadership top tip is to encourage leaders to think about those moments where they've had a particularly tough period at work and reflect on the actions they took that helped them navigate through it. These difficult moments are great learning experiences and leaders can benefit hugely from transferring some of the skills they've developed in really tough times, across to how they operate as a leader in more normal times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This special episode of Compliance Clarified was recorded for International Women's Day. Rachel Wolcott and Lindsey Rogerson, both senior editors at Regulatory Intelligence in London, are joined by Dr Louise Ashley of Queen Mary University's London School of Business and Management and Centre for Research on Equality and Diversity. Louise has spent a decade researching social inclusion in the City of London. Her book Highly Discriminating: Why the City Isn't Fair and Diversity Doesn't Work is based on interviews with more than 400 city leaders and workers was published last year. She was a working group member of the City of London Corporation Taskforce on Socioeconomic Diversity andled research for the government's Social Mobility Commission.City firms have been trumpeting their diversity and inclusion programmes, but in this episode, we look at what is actually happening. What Dr Ashley illustrates in her work, is a complex situation where D&I programmes have achieved some incremental change, but at a cost to individuals. To "make it" women and individuals from ethnic minority and lower socio-economic backgrounds must assimilate to the prevailing financial services culture, which is white, middle-class, and male. D&I programmes have been sanitised politically and co-opted to serve City firms' reputational and marketing needs. Regulators should take another look at these programmes with a more critical eye, she argues. Programme notes: Louise Ashley's article for The Conversation can be found here: https://theconversation.com/class-and-the-city-of-london-my-decade-of-research-shows-why-elitism-is-endemic-and-top-firms-dont-really-care-199474 Link to Highly Discriminating: Why the City Isn't Fair and Diversity Doesn't Work, by Louise Ashley https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/highly-discriminating Lindsey's article Employment tribunal orders BNP Paribas to carry out equal pay audit, after £2 million judgmenthttp://go-ri.tr.com/K30qUZ Rachel & Lindsey's articleUK regulators plan pilot diversitydata collection, regular reporting to followhttp://go-ri.tr.com/sRJpVd Compliance Clarified is a podcast from Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence.Listen to wide-ranging, insightful discussions on all things compliance for financial services firms. We delve into the hot topics of the day, the challenges faced and offer up practical ideas for emerging good practice. We de-mystify regulation and explore the art, as well as the science, of the ever-expanding role of the compliance officer.  Enforcements, digital transformation, regulatory change, governance, culture, conduct risk – anything and everything impacting the compliance function is up for discussion.

Better use of data is key to more effective government. Across government, teams are doing fascinating work with data. But those projects don't get the attention they deserve. Data Bites aims to change that. Our latest event, the 37th in our series, was a social mobility special. The Social Mobility Commission presented its new report on data gaps across government and the impact that has on its work, complemented by other speakers on social mobility and missing data. Each speaker has eight minutes, followed by eight minutes of questions from the audience. This month's speakers were: Oliver Anderson, Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) Strategic Analysis Lead at the Department for Education, on post-16 education and labour market activities and outcomes Alun Francis OBE, Interim Chair of the Social Mobility Commission (SMC) and Principal and Chief Executive of Oldham College, on the SMC's recently published data gaps report Michael Pandazis, Head of Evidence for the Social Mobility Commission, on the data gaps impacting the SMC's annual State of the Nation report Anna Powell-Smith, Director of the Centre for Public Data, with an update on their Missing Numbers work. The event was chaired by Gavin Freeguard, Associate at the Institute for Government.

Katharine Birbalsingh, described as the country's strictest head teacher, said that Britain's public schools were threatened by “incessant” attacks on the privileged. The former chairwoman of the Social Mobility Commission warned that schools had lost their traditional sense of duty towards the less fortunate. Birbalsingh also said that fee-charging schools had been seduced by child-centred learning, creativity and independence, and had handed authority to pupils. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/talktv/support

In this week's episode, Ricky and Jon interview Matthew Goodwin. Matthew is a British academic and Professor of Politics at the University of Kent. He is a commissioner of the Social Mobility Commission and also publishes a very successful and influential Substack. Goodwin has also published several books - his latest "Values, Voice & Virtue" is available in March 2023. Topics covered include; revolving door politics, populism, the increasing age divide of voters, radical progressivism, cancel culture AND more!---ARTICLES AND LINKS DISCUSSEDFollow Matthew on Twitter:@GoodwinMJRead Mathew Goodwin's Substack here---FOLLOW THE CONVERSATION ON reddit:https://www.reddit.com/r/thenewfleshpodcast/---SUPPORT THE NEW FLESHBuy Me A Coffee:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thenewflesh---Instagram: @thenewfleshpodcast---Twitter: @TheNewFleshpod---Follow Ricky: @ricky_allpike on InstagramFollow Jon: @thejonastro on Instagram---Logo Design by Made To Move: @made.tomove on InstagramTheme Song: Dreamdrive "Chase Dreams"

Shownotes:According to a report from last year by a leading consulting firm - compared with the other developed countries, the most disadvantaged in the UK are less likely to climb the income ladder and economically advantaged tend to stay at the top. No surprise there…It is no secret that, the on going impact of the pandemic, cost of living crisis, economic recession and global uncertainty has pushed more households and therefore young people into poverty. For young people from underprivileged backgrounds this is going to deeply impact their ability to bridge the attainment gap between them and their better off peers. Young people without access to resources, mentoring and networks required to progress will struggle to reach their full potential. In 2023, instead of disappearing, the barriers to achieving upward social mobility are getting more and more entrenched in our society…..No surprise there either…… To understand more about social mobility, imperatives and impact I spoke with Tokunbo Ajasa Oluwa, CEO of Career Ready, a passionate advocate for young people and social mobility. We spoke about the findings of the last State of National Report by the Social Mobility Commission and discussed why as a developed country we have been unable to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty?

On this episode Andrew and Beth interview “Britain's Strictest Headmistress,” Kathrine Birbalsingh. Kathrine speaks about the state of education in the U.K., which we compare with our own experiences in the U.S. She discusses what led her to a career in teaching and to forming her own school in London, Michaela Community School. She also shares her views on woke education and how a culture of victimhood is harming children, especially lower income and inner city children. She explains what being “strict” really means and discusses the challenges of hiring and training teachers in a school environment that values knowledge, discipline and responsibility.  Katharine Birbalsingh is Headmistress and co-founder of Michaela Community School in London and Chair of the Social Mobility Commission. Katharine read Philosophy & Modern Languages at The University of Oxford and has always taught in inner London. She has made numerous appearances on television, radio, podcasts and has written for several publications. Katharine has also written two books and edited another two, the last of which is The Power of Culture, about Michaela. Katharine was appointed Honorary Fellow of New College, Oxford in 2021 and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

According to the OECD, the UK is the third most expensive country for childcare. An estimated 1.7 million women in England are prevented from doing more hours of work by childcare issues, while a UNICEF report this week shows that almost 1 in 5 parents on low incomes are skipping meals to pay for it. On Saturday, 12,000 mums will descend on 11 locations across the UK to demand government reform in a ‘March of the Mummies' organised by the campaign group Pregnant then Screwed. Its founder Joeli Brearley tells us why. From tax-free childcare to the 30 free hours offer, why do we have the childcare policies that we do? Who are they supposed to target and who really benefits? We discuss with Christine Farquharson, senior research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Megan Jarvie, Head of Family and Childcare at the charity Coram. The number of childcare providers in England has dropped by 4000 between March 2021 and March 2022. A survey of 2,000 early years providers in March found 30% were currently operating at a loss, while 34% said they expected to be in 12 months' time. Meanwhile a 2020 report from the Social Mobility Commission shows that one in eight nursery workers earned less than £5 an hour. To discuss the challenges facing the sector, we speak to Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance and Jennie Bailey, owner of a nursery in Hampshire. What are the opportunities and challenges of employing working parents? Elaine Stern is a mother of three and owner of a marketing and production agency employing 35 workers. She discusses how requests for flexible-working or a lack of accessible affordable childcare can impact on business. How can we arrive at an accessible, affordable, high quality childcare system in the UK? We ask our panel, including Jemima Olchawski CEO of the Fawcett Society, whether government proposals to deregulate the childcare sector will work, how other countries compare to the UK, and whether the sometime conflicting needs of parents, children, providers and employers can be reconciled. Presenter: Elaine Dunkley Producer: Lucy Wai Producer: Kirsty Starkey Interviewed Guest: Joeli Brearly Interviewed Guest: Megan Jarvie Interviewed Guest: Christine Farquharson Interviewed Guest: Jennie Bailey Interviewed Guest: Neil Leitch Interviewed Guest: Elaine Stern Interviewed Guest: Jemime Olchawski

SPONSORED BY FORTUNE AND FREEDOM: It's time to take control of your money... sign up for free here: https://subscribe.fortuneandfreedom.com/1954068/ SPONSORED BY: Epoch Times, an online news source that presents clear, fact-based journalism without spin. Go to: http://epochtim.es/triggernometry to find out more! Matt Goodwin is is a British academic who is Professor of Politics in the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent. As of September 2022 he is a commissioner of the Social Mobility Commission. Join our exclusive TRIGGERnometry community on Locals! https://triggernometry.locals.com/ OR Support TRIGGERnometry Here: https://www.subscribestar.com/triggernometry https://www.patreon.com/triggerpod Bitcoin: bc1qm6vvhduc6s3rvy8u76sllmrfpynfv94qw8p8d5 Music by: Xentric | info@xentricapc.com | https://www.xentricapc.com/ | Channel ID: UCo_8zzSxKeL3arKWVuP8wdQ Buy Merch Here: https://www.triggerpod.co.uk/shop/​​​ Advertise on TRIGGERnometry: marketing@triggerpod.co.uk Join the Mailing List: https://www.triggerpod.co.uk/sign-up/​​​ Find TRIGGERnometry on Social Media:  https://twitter.com/triggerpod​​​ https://www.facebook.com/triggerpod​​​ https://www.instagram.com/triggerpod​​​ About TRIGGERnometry:  Stand-up comedians Konstantin Kisin (@konstantinkisin) and Francis Foster (@francisjfoster) make sense of politics, economics, free speech, AI, drug policy and WW3 with the help of presidential advisors, renowned economists, award-winning journalists, controversial writers, leading scientists and notorious comedians.

In the final episode of this series Andrew Neil talks to the headteacher and chair of the Social Mobility Commission about education policy, her teaching philosophy and how her own background shapes it.Subscribe to get new episodes. Tortoise members and Tortoise+ subscribers on Apple Podcasts get exclusive access to bonus episodes called Inside the Interview, where Andrew reflects on the conversations he has with his guests.Members also get access to more of our journalism and invites to exclusive events. For a year's half price digital membership for £50 go to tortoisemedia.com/Andrew and enter the code AndrewNeil50. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What can we learn from the charity sector? Kiran Gill is the founder and CEO of The Difference, a charity which works to drive improvements in outcomes for vulnerable learners. Kiran Gill began her career teaching in inner-city London Schools. In April 2016, Kiran had left the classroom and was Head of Policy at the Social Mobility Commission when she had the idea for The Difference. In this episode we discuss scaling organisations, keeping quality as you grow, lessons learnt from being a school and charity leader, persuading others, and shaping messages to suit the needs of your audience. @dkgill @GreenshawTrust Music: www.bensound.com

Tuesday 3 May - Top stories include: Female, non-white and part-time staff are significantly less likely to be promoted to headteacher roles, according to new research from the DfE. The cost of the SEND system has hit a total of £1.3 billion this year as the places crisis bites and flaws in the system become more visible. The government has called issues with ECF “teething problems” and said they can be fixed with “tweaks” by ministers. Recently-appointed chair of the Social Mobility Commission came under fire for gendered remarks about girls taking A-level physics. Ofsted published its new 5-year strategy. This week's deep dive: The 2022 Haringey BAME Achievement Conference We'll also tell you what's happening at HEP this week and what we've been watching, listening to, and reading! Watching - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30LjUmzOE9s Listening - https://freshedpodcast.com/hastedt-meinck/ Reading - https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2016/fall/feature/one-and-the-many

The Chair of the Social Mobility Commission on why she ‘came out' as a conservative, the purpose of education and the perils of smartphones

Katharine Birbalsingh, chair of the Social Mobility Commission and headteacher of the Michaela Community School, returns to The Brendan O'Neill Show to talk about the culture war in the classroom. Donate to spiked: https://www.spiked-online.com/donate/ Sponsored by: Noom https://noom.com/brendan

Tabitha talks to Sammy Wright - @SamuelWright78 - vice principal of Southmoor Academy in Sunderland, winner of the Northern Book Award, and former Social Mobility Commission Lead for Schools and HE about child poverty, fairy tales, and governmental failure. Listen back to Sammy's electrifying reading from his new novel ‘Fit' and his explanation of the vital role of the Social Mobility Commission despite its lack of power. And buy his novel here: https://www.andotherstories.org/fit/

Matt Chorley interviews Katharine Birbalsingh, the new Chair of the Social Mobility Commission, also known as "Britain's Strictest Headteacher".PLUS: Rachel Sylvester and Carol Lewis discuss the day's news. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How can companies create a level playing field for applicants and employees from lower socio-economic backgrounds? Evan Davis and guests discuss the sometimes invisible barriers and assumptions which exclude some from getting jobs or getting promoted. Many believe that the job interview format tends to favour the social skills of those from the middle and upper middle classes. Diversity schemes help - but there are questions about whether they go far enough. Is this the final taboo when it comes to equality in employment? Guests: Professor Lee Elliot-Major, University of Exeter Sandra Wallace, chair, Social Mobility Commission and one of the Managing Directors for UK & Europe, DLA Piper Jenny Baskerville, Head of Inclusion, Diversity & Social Equality, KPMG Producer: Lucinda Borrell Sound: Graham Puddifoot Editor: Hugh Levinson

The UK's ‘strictest' headteacher Katharine Birbalsingh has landed a new role as head of the Social Mobility Commission, a public body designed to boost the life chances of the country's most disadvantaged children. Born to Jamaican and Guyanese immigrants, Katharine Birbalsingh first rose to prominence at the 2010 Tory party conference. Her speech about Britain's “broken” education system received a standing ovation, but it also made her one of the most controversial figures in British education, and for a while she couldn't even get a teaching job. Then, in 2014, she founded the Michaela free school in north-west London, which has a zero tolerance behaviour policy. Pupils are penalised for forgetting to bring a pencil, or even for talking in corridors between lessons. The school has been deemed “outstanding” in all areas by Ofsted inspectors. Edward Stourton examines the life and career of Katharine Birbalsingh, and asks if her forthright personality and achievements as a headteacher will equip her to address issues of entrenched inequality. Producer: Nick Holland Researcher: Bethan Head

After a conference in which others have dominated the headlines, Keir Starmer has quite a challenge to make his slogan 'Stronger Future Together' seem credible and to make himself look like Britain's next Prime Minister. Nick Robinson speaks to BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg, Shadow Justice Secretary David Lammy and Sammy Wright from the Social Mobility Commission. Image: PA

Individuals from working class backgrounds who join the UK's top professions earn on average 16% less than their colleagues doing the same job but who hail from a more privileged background. This shocking fact revealed by this week's Oven-Ready HR guest Dr Sam Friedman highlights the long-shadow still cast on our life outcomes in 21st century Britain.  Why in a supposedly meritocratic society, should where you went to school and how you speak determine your earning potential?  Dr Sam Friedman is a commissioner at the Social Mobility Commission and Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics.  He has published widely on class, culture and social mobility and recently co-authored “The Class Ceiling; why it pays to be privileged."The question of class is a hot topic in HR.  Just this month, accountancy giant KPMG announced plans to increase the number of partners and directors with a working class background from 23% to 29%.In this interview, we cover:Why is there a class pay gap?Why is there a lack of working-class people in senior roles?Why class is a conscious as opposed to an unconscious bias; a mis-recognition of talent and how this impacts upon the recruitment and development of talentWhat are the dominant behavioural codes and cultural touchpoints displayed by those from a privileged background? Why being knowledgeable about cricket isn't a guarantee of competenceWhy working class individuals continue to feel like imposters in the workplace.This is a fascinating interview into Britain's class system and how it plays out at work.   Surely in a modern  society, where you went to school shouldn't impact your pay packet should it?Links:https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/the-class-ceilinghttps://www.lse.ac.uk/sociology/people/sam-friedmanhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/podcasthost/Find out more?To listen to the full episode, download a transcript and view all the other episodes or find out more about Oven-Ready HR and Chris Taylor your show host visit: https://ovenreadyhr.com

Helen calls a code red emergency! Children's University CEO and Director of Partnerships, Helen O'Donnell, talks about post-Covid recovery, Children's University's new State of the Nation report, the Social Mobility Commission… and Stranger Things. ----------------------------------- Helen can be found on Twitter: @helenodonnell6 and @CU_Trust For a transcript of this episode: https://tinyurl.com/7w38ts3d For Children's University's new State of the Nation report: https://childrensuniversity.co.uk/evidence To find out more about Children's University, visit www.childrensuniversity.co.uk   Children's University: Live! is a hosted and produced by Vic Elizabeth Turnbull and is a MIC Media production

In this episode of Policy Matters, hosts Matt Dickson and Franz Buscha talk to Sam Friedman, Associate Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and a member of the Social Mobility Commission. Sam explains his recent research highlighting how those from working class backgrounds find themselves earning less than colleagues from more privileged families even when they have the same qualifications and work in the same elite professions. Going beyond the numbers to understand this ‘class pay gap', Sam describes the numerous interviews he undertook with elite professionals from different backgrounds and what this revealed about the hidden mechanisms that operate, often rewarding privilege rather than merit or ability. The discussion then moves on to the dominance of private schools – and especially a particular group of private schools – in the elite strata of society and considers the sorts of policies that might help to make Britain a more meritocratic society.

Thank you for listening to another episode of The Rabbit Society Podcast. This week I had the pleasure of chatting with David Johnston. David is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for Wantage since the general election in December 2019. Before he became an MP he was the Chief Executive of the Social Mobility Foundation for ten years. He was also a member of the Social Mobility Commission.Support the show (https://www.therabbitsociety.com/podcast)

Jon talks to civil servant of 30+ years, Paul Downer. In 2019 Paul left the MoJ after 35 years and took up the post of a Digital Delivery Advisor at the Government Digital Service (GDS). In June 2019 Paul founded the first Social Mobility Network at GDS , forming links with the Social Mobility Commission & the Social Mobility Foundation to promote the SM agenda. Paul speaks regularly on the issues of Race and Class individually , as well as teaming up with civil service colleague , Rob Neil OBE , as part their 'Unfinished Business' series.

Nadine Smith is UK Director of the Centre for Public Impact (CPI), a not-for-profit company founded in 2015 by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to catalyse and inform the debate on the future of Government. CPI helps Governments think about policy decisions and the role of the public servant. Their current focus is on human government and its relationship with the citizen. Their first premise was that the answer lay in “technocratic tweaks and adaptations… action and delivery” but they went on to discover that there were more fundamental and complex issues at play. Recently the CPI produced a report in which Nadine wrote “Government must be more human or risk becoming irrelevant.” She says there are three key elements to effective Government: legitimacy, policy and action. Of these, she has found that the conversation about legitimacy has been the most challenging, touching on mistrust, anxiety, apathy, and antipathy. She found that young people are “drifting away from the idea that Government could be of any help to them whatsoever.” More than that, she observed that almost anyone who had been through a trauma – for example a broken relationship, issues at school, losing a business, environmental shocks – felt that there was a lack of kindness and care on the part of Government. In consequence many people are deciding that the only way to effect change is to “do it ourselves, in our own way” and with disregard to the law. Nadine would concur with Michael Gove when he said in his Ditchley annual lecture on 27th June 2020 that “there is a deep disenchantment on the part of many of our citizens with a political system that they feel has failed them.” However, she wonders if the Government fully understands what is required in order to become more human; it is not just about moving a few civil servants out of Westminster and improving the quality of data. She believes that the Government needs to think differently about what regions and localities can contribute. Each place in the UK has a different character and it is appropriate to provide them with more self-determination, enhancing their value and self-worth. Central Government can play a role in this by “coordinating, enabling and connecting.” One of the leaders that the CPI has highlighted is Donna Hall, Chief Executive of Wigan at the time of the Wigan Deal (who features in episode 21 of this podcast). Nadine featured Wigan in a recent TEDx speech. She wonders whether wider adoption of the Wigan model is possible at present because the public are “exhausted” and a lot of healing needs to happen. I put it to Nadine that the general public has a degree of cynicism about the Government ‘listening' when follow up action is not taken. For example, progress has been made on less than a quarter of the recommendations of the 2013 Social Mobility Commission, and the Government presses on with HS2 despite the opposition to it. She believes that the Government has been preoccupied by Brexit and Covid. She worked on the first social mobility paper with Alan Milburn and wonders if social mobility and exclusion are sometimes viewed in isolation from “the bigger picture.” When a small (or not so small) group of people fail to succeed repeatedly through no fault of their own, the economy as a whole suffers. The stability of the country is at risk, and it brings the legitimacy of the Government into question. Nadine believes that another reason for Government inaction in the wake of consultation is that the system is unprepared for the scale of change required. CPI is working to help leaders understand system leadership and life-long organisational learning. If you are going to deploy the same performance measures and request the same data then you will tend to get the same answers, she says.

This week on the podcast we discuss the Sutton Trust and Social Mobility Commission's report on the educational backgrounds of Britain's leaders and what the findings suggest about social mobility. We look at LEO, analyse an exercise reviewing the Research Excellence Framework, and take stock of where the sector is with the debate over free speech. With Paul Greatrix, Registrar at the University of Nottingham; Aaron Porter, Associate Director Governance, Advance HE and Director of Policy, IDP Connect; and Wonkhe's own Arthi Nachiappan.

While equality in some areas has progressed, there is increased segregation when it comes to socioeconomic class. How should Christians respond in their own lives? Then, with Christmas around the corner, a conversation about Charles Dickens and his timeless classic A Christmas Carol which two of the podcasters are currently reading aloud at family breakfast every day. Here are some of the links and references from this episode: The Lines That Divide America https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/12/the-lines-reshaping-america/547205/ Britain ignores social mobility at its peril https://www.economist.com/news/britain/21732102-mobility-has-become-more-important-it-has-also-become-more-difficult-promote-britain I resigned from the Social Mobility Commission because of the British government's dismal record https://theconversation.com/i-resigned-from-the-social-mobility-commission-because-of-the-british-governments-dismal-record-88813 Ex-Facebook Big: ‘You Are Being Programmed' https://youtu.be/PMotykw0SIk?t=21m20s The Shepherd's Pipe – Songs for the Holy Night https://www.plough.com/en/topics/culture/music/shepherds-pipe A Christmas Carol http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19337 Christmas at Dingley Dell – excerpt from the Pickwick Papers https://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Text/The%20Pickwick%20Papers-%20Excerpt%20-%20Dickens.html The Chimes – Charles Dickens (Christmas novella) http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/653 The Cricket on the Hearth – Charles Dickens (Christmas novella) http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/678 Run, ye shepherds, to the Light – Michael Haydn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asnP05IlK1k Songs of Angels – Robert Shaw Chorale https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGI4cqItD6U&list=PLLzFhTjLsBLnNMTw8oAK0sdhCetbxQnMO The Thirteen Days of Christmas https://www.amazon.com/Thirteen-Christmas-Shirley-Hughes-Overton/dp/0192735438 Please rate us and leave us a comment on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Our website is www.bruderhof.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/thebruderhof Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheBruderhof Instagram: www.instagram.com/bruderhofcommunities Email: contact@bruderhof.com