Where you're from shouldn't decide your chances in life

It's about life chances, ultimately - and whether we really can say to children from the north: "you can do anything you want to do."

The Children's Commissioner says, in far too many cases, that's just not true.

Her 'Growing Up North' report today warns that young people from poorer backgrounds in our region are being left a long way behind their counterparts down south.

The fact that many children here aren't being given the same opportunities as others in different parts of the UK is probably the most important story I'll cover at Tyne Tees.

The Commissioner, Anne Longfield, says closing the achievement gap should be a central priority of efforts to regenerate the north.

Perhaps she would say that. Her job is to champion children's rights, independent of government and parliament.

But her warning today comes in notably forceful terms. Too many children here are "being badly let down" because they're facing a double disadvantage of growing up in poverty and going to a poor school.

Of course, despite what the road signs may say, 'THE NORTH' is not one big identical place. This report recognises that and highlights that there are areas of affluence, and great success stories. Many young people here do very well - and none of this is about doing the region down.

But the facts show that, for example, children from poorer backgrounds in London are 40% more likely to achieve good maths and English GCSE grades than similar children here - and that can't be right.

It's difficult to explain why children from poorer backgrounds, on average, do worse at school - but there are links to parents' roles, how well connected they are, and even things like whether children get to see and experience more by going to the theatre or on holiday.

Most importantly perhaps, if you don't know anyone who is a doctor or a lawyer, it's difficult to think that you might be able to do that.

Sadly, today's report says that those from the poorest backgrounds here - who rely on school to broaden their horizons the most - are most often let down by poor standards in the classroom.

Not at primary school, it must be said - ours are generally among the best in the country. Secondary schools in the North East, though, are among the worst.

The Children's Commissioner points to things like poor leadership and difficult recruitment at secondary level, but it's not clear why that would be worse than at primary.

Perhaps the most compelling argument I've heard over the last two and a half years working in the North East is that the answer to the question: "what do you want to do when you grow up?" changes, dramatically, between the ages of, say, 8 and 14.

At primary school, you can talk of being an astronaut or a football player. At secondary, many young people are, unfortunately, able to look around them, and see that those things are very unlikely, and in fact in many cases, getting a job at all would be a bonus. Patterns of under-ambition and under-achievement go on.

The secondary schools picked out for praise in Anne Longfield's report seem, generally, to be those which have done a great job at understanding and working with their communities. It may be concerning, then, that this is not the model being used for ever-increasing parts of our education system, with more and more schools moving away from local council control and becoming part of multi-academy trusts with others dotted around the country.

Another concern is that Justine Greening, an Education Secretary from the north and with a passion for social mobility, was removed from the role by the Prime Minister at the start of the year. Her replacement, Damian Hinds, has been to visit the North East already, but last week refused to commit to the region being included in the next phase of the government’s flagship Opportunity Areas initiative, which gives extra cash to schools to help the most disadvantaged children.

Disappointingly, neither Mr Hinds nor Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry were available for interview to respond to the Children’s Commissioner’s report today.

Anne Longfield says she is optimistic about closing the north-south achievement gap, because of the opportunities presented right now by the Powerhouse, as well as powers being devolved to regional representatives like the Tees Valley Mayor.

The government told us it's investing £3.4 billion to boost the economy of the north, and £12 million to spread good teaching in English, improve early literacy, and schemes that help families to support their child's education at home.

The Commissioner though wants to see more intervention here, like the London Challenge a decade ago, which saw extra government investment and a big upturn in educational performance in the capital.

Of course, growing up is not just about the grades. I went to meet three 18-year-olds who are from different parts of the North East and have different experiences of growing up here in the 21st century.

Jay is transgender, from Newcastle and now volunteers with Northern Pride. He said: “I feel being different in the North East is accepted, but it’s not embraced”.

He wants to see better mental health support for young people - something which SCHOOLS NorthEast is actively working to address.

Today’s report talks too about how too many young people here are dropping out of education before the age of 18 - again linked to deprivation, but also behaviour, mental health and other issues, and undermining their future prospects.

Next, Chloe, from Darlington, is a technical engineering apprentice. She applied for the position having enjoyed work experience with the company.

The need for industry to play a greater role in inspiring and upskilling our young people was a key demand in a similar report last month from the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, an independent business group led by former Chancellor George Osborne.

Ms Longfield’s intervention today should add further momentum to those calls for rapid improvement.

Finally, Akeel is from Middlesbrough and now a student at Newcastle University. He told me: “I’m proud to be from the north and growing up in the north is something that I wouldn’t change."

That was a message the Children’s Commissioner found in her work too. There is a proud identity, which is part of what makes the north great.

But, all young people who grow up here must be given a fair shot, so that they can reach their potential.

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