Ministers should create a “clearer and more operational definition” of white working class pupils in education, a landmark inquiry has said, after it found the school system is “not serving” their interests. The independent inquiry into white working class educational outcomes, co-chaired by Star Academies CEO Hamid Patel and former education secretary Estelle Morris found the challenge faced by white working class pupils had become “one of the most significant and persistent drivers of educational underachievement within the English system today”. The inquiry, which worked with Public First to poll more than 4,000 white working class (WWC) pupils and parents and 500 staff, laid bare the wide gaps between WWC pupils and their peers across attainment, attitudes towards success, attendance, suspension and absence, experience of belonging and access to the SEND system. Around 15 per cent of the school population is defined as white working class when measured by free school meal eligibility. But to capture a larger cohort, researchers polled thousands from households considered to be in lower socio-economic groups based on employment. The inquiry found there was “no shared definition of white working class, making coordinated action more difficult”, and called on government to create one for schools. Here’s everything you need to know. 1. Persistent attainment gaps… While poverty remains the strongest predictor of poor achievement across all ethnic groups, the report found white British FSM pupils experienced the weakest educational outcomes of any major ethnic group in England. This suggests WWC underachievement “cannot be understood solely as a question of poverty, but reflects a distinctive combination of socioeconomic disadvantage, place, culture and educational experience.” In 2024-25, 63 per cent of WWC pupils achieved the expected standards in the phonics screening check, compared with 83 per cent of non-FSM pupils. Source Public First Similar gaps emerged at the end of primary school, where 43 per cent of WWC pupils achieved their expected standard of reading, writing and maths, compared with 69 per cent of non-FSM pupils. And at secondary level, 36 per cent of WWC pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and Maths GCSE, compared with 72 per cent of non-FSM pupils. According to progress 8 measures, white FSM pupils achieved 0.9 grades lower per subject than pupils with similar prior attainment nationally. 2…and attendance and belonging gaps Data also shows that WWC pupils were almost three times as likely to be suspended (36 per cent), four times as likely to be permanently excluded (0.4 per cent) and three and a half times more likely to be placed in alternative provision (0.65 per cent), compared with the overall school population. WWC pupils also missed nearly twice as many school sessions than the national average, at 13 per cent compared with 7 per cent. Source Public First They were also far more likely to be identified as having SEND (34 per cent) than the national average (19 per cent), but families reported finding it harder to access and navigate the system. At transition points, WWC pupils reported having a more difficult time. Polling found that around 39 per cent described the experience as “difficult” or “very difficult”, compared to 22 per cent of pupils in the rest of the sample. 3. ‘Discomfort and uncertainty’ The inquiry found that across the system, there was “discomfort and uncertainty about how to engage with the issue of white working class underachievement.” Teacher training provider Teach First said in written evidence: “Headteachers consistently expressed concern about the growing overlap between educational discourse and electoral politics…many were uneasy about the politicisation of the issue and the language used to describe it.” Researchers found a lack of a shared definition or trackable data on what it means to be WWC, which made coordinated action “difficult”. The inquiry recommended government “establish a clearer and more operational definition of white working class in the context of education and strengthen how data is used to identify, track and plan action in schools and trusts serving white working class pupils”. 4. ‘Misalignment’ between communities and education The inquiry also found that WWC communities and the education system “are misaligned in how they define success and the purpose of education”. Polling found that these pupils and parents placed a greater emphasis on wider life outcomes than academic achievement when defining success in school. Source Public First The report said this created a strain on relationships between schools and families, as teachers focus on academic results. Only 48 per cent of WWC parents said they communicated with their child’s school regularly or very regularly, compared to 60 per cent of white middle class parents and 68 per cent of non-white working class parents. 5. Strengthen curriculum and transitions Among the 24 recommendations, the inquiry said government should strengthen transitions both into primary school and then into secondary. It also said ministers should make reading fluency a “national priority” among WWC children. The inquiry argued that key stage 3 should be “reprioritised” as a “critical phase”, after evidence showed drops in attendance, engagement, behaviour and confidence during this period for WWC pupils. Curriculum should also become more “meaningful” to engage WWC pupils, especially in maths and English, the inquiry said. Careers education should also be introduced at primary school stage and link up with local industries. The inquiry also called on government to work with teacher training providers to create stronger local pipelines into teaching in WWC communities facing workforce challenges. Deliberate action should also be taken to encourage the highest performing schools to admit disadvantaged pupils, particularly in areas with large WWC communities. 6. ‘Sustained national effort’ required Estelle Morris, co-chair of the inquiry, said: “Improving outcomes for white working class children will require sustained national effort over many years. It needs us to face up to the scale of the challenge and to believe that change is possible. “Responsibility cannot sit with schools on their own – they are already working incredibly hard. Government, employers, colleges, universities, trusts, community organisations, families and wider society all have a role to play.” Fellow co-chair Hamid Patel said the inquiry was “struck by the pride, aspiration, resilience and strong sense of solidarity within many white working class communities”. “Parents want better lives for their children and place a high value on success. The problem is not a lack of ambition but a combination of embedded barriers, opportunity gaps, distrust and differing experiences of the education system.”