Buckinghamshire Challenge

A good education is fundamental to improving life chances and is one of the most powerful tools in lifting children out of poverty. It should provide an exciting journey of self-discovery and fulfilment, enabling children and young people to engage with the world around them and supporting them to become active and compassionate citizens. A good education sets children and young people up for a lifetime of learning, ambition, and achievement. The Buckinghamshire Challenge sets out to achieve this for every child. 

Educational outcomes in Buckinghamshire are extremely strong with the majority of young people across our county leaving school with very good results. However, this is not always the case for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. Disadvantaged pupils continue to achieve less well than their non-disadvantaged peers at all age phases both nationally and here in Buckinghamshire.   

We know that this is a stubborn issue that persists despite the best efforts of the whole education community in Buckinghamshire. We also know that the gap starts early, continues year on year throughout a pupil’s education and that Covid-19 and the resulting school lockdowns affected disadvantaged pupils more than others. The gap does not discriminate; it exists in both good and outstanding schools as well as those who are not yet good, in maintained schools and academies, in primaries and secondaries and in both schools in urban areas with high numbers of disadvantaged pupils as well as more rural schools with smaller numbers.   

We have a moral imperative to work together to make this change. This is an issue that requires a county-wide approach, an approach routed in research evidence to ensure that the actions taken in every school and with every pupil in Buckinghamshire are targeted, focused and consistent.