Schools across England are embracing a growing grassroots movement to tackle educational inequality, adopting an equity approach that combines high expectations with targeted support for pupils from under-resourced backgrounds.
Teacher leaders described the Equity Scorecard as one of their most valuable professional exercises, prompting deeper conversations and challenging long-held assumptions about disadvantage.
A new report published by the South-West Social Mobility Commission shows how structured guidance, balanced with data, can help schools embed equity into curriculum design, pastoral support and school improvement strategies.
"We need a new approach to tackling the persistent divides that scar our education system," said Lee Elliot Major, Professor of Social Mobility at the University of Exeter. "It is a national scandal that children eligible for free school meals are still only around half as likely to achieve strong GCSE passes in English and maths as their peers."
"For too long, we've been trapped in a false debate between 'no excuses' approaches and recognising the impact of disadvantage on outcomes. The most effective schools show this is a false choice. Equity means holding the highest expectations while relentlessly removing the barriers that stand in pupils' way."
Stark socio-economic gaps in GCSE results in England have remained unchanged for over a decade, amid rising numbers of pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM), and growing precarity for a wider share of pupils. The report also comes at a time when the South West has some of the largest GCSE attainment gaps in the country.
The Equity Scorecard: Strengthening Educational Equity in Schools presents findings from a pilot of 20 secondary schools across the South-West peninsula. The next phase will see the programme scale nationally, with over 100 schools already signed up and plans to expand further through regional networks and partnerships.
'Equity case studies' produced by schools in the report show how teachers are using tools such as vulnerability indices - not to stereotype children, but to identify what hurdles may have hindered their learning. A consistent message from the case studies is that effective practice lies in finding a middle path: using deeper knowledge of pupils to remove barriers, strengthening relationships to improve learning, and teaching powerful knowledge through inclusive curricula. In several schools, equity has been embedded directly into School Improvement Plans and Pupil Premium strategies. A primary version of the toolkit is being developed ready for use in 2026.
Alongside the national rollout, a new Equity Leadership module is being launched at the University of Exeter to support school leaders in embedding equity-informed practice. "If we are serious about narrowing gaps, we need to invest in the people leading this work," added Professor Elliot Major.
Sam Banks, headteacher at Dawlish College, said: "The scorecard has been a really practical tool for helping us reflect on where we are and where we want to go. It's supported more open conversations as a team and helped us take meaningful steps towards embedding equity in our day-to-day work. I hope that our case study will help other schools to make the same sort of changes."
Secondary schools can sign up to use the next phase of the scorecard here - as an independent tool or as part of a community of practice - and the leadership module here. To understand Ofsted's new approach to equity, we are welcoming Sir Martyn Oliver to Exeter on 22nd April. Free tickets can be reserved here.
