This week social equality was once again on the Government agenda as it announced Katharine Birbalsingh as its new social mobility tsar; a head teacher from a North London school that has been tasked with leveling up the playing field and to close the education gap, employment gap and enterprise gap. 

Social mobility is fundamental to the work we do at the Martin James Network, to help create a fairer and more progressive society where everyone can reach their full potential, regardless of their background. Sadly, statistics show that interventions to make change occur need to tackle complex and varied challenges. 

In the UK today your social background still impacts your opportunities in life. By the age of three, poorer children are estimated to be, on average, nine months behind children from more wealthy backgrounds. By 16, children receiving free school meals achieve 1.7 grades lower at GCSE. 

Interestingly, just 7% of children in the UK attend independent schools, but 30 percent of all A* grades at A level are achieved by these children. 51% of top medics, 54% of FTSE-100 chief execs, 54% of top journalists and 70% of High Court judges went to an independent school, compared to 7% of the population.

There is no ‘silver bullet’ to resolve this which is why we believe in the power of being fearless in driving behaviourial and systematic change, through a combination of immersive intelligent technologies and humanising practices. Here’s some of the things we are doing to address one of the UK’s toughest challenges. 

The key to communities thriving is to design and build more inclusive behaviours, structures, and environments. We support community partners across Birmingham including Children of the Sun who offer culture and educational opportunities to children of African Heritage.  Their Saturday School ensures children and young people can learn, whilst expressing their thoughts and feelings in a safe and nurturing environment, leading them to achieve a more positive outcome.

In addition to the Saturday school, our funding supported Children of the Sun to host a free, four-week summer programme, where children enjoyed arts and crafts, curriculum support, African history lessons, special outings, and much more. We are committed to empowering young children as they become more emotionally and socially aware and therefore begin to unlock their true potential.

Supporting young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds to visualise a fearless future ahead of them is part of  MJN’s mission to help communities believe in themselves, achieve their full potential and inspire future generations.

EPIC Futures, Co-founded by Ayyab and Jim Cockburn supports the growth of young entrepreneurs from care experienced backgrounds. We utilised the experience, skills, and knowledge from the breadth of entrepreneurs who have developed the companies that make up the Network, to guide, teach and mentor these young adults. Through our continued support, we currently help eight young entrepreneurs and soon, we will be bringing two new people into the programme.

The Network works in other ways to support societies journey towards social equality, see below for more: