Covid 19 and Social Mobility – a report by the Sutton Trust

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are far reaching and are likely to impact on practically every area of government policy for a long time to come. The policy landscape is shifting rapidly, with changes coming not in days or weeks but often in hours. This briefing covers the Sutton Trust’s immediate concerns, based on the information available, looking at how the crisis is likely to impact the most disadvantaged young people through their time in education and into the workplace. It includes immediate areas of concern which will need quick action from policymakers, as well as areas which will need further research in the coming weeks and months. In the longer term, the economic impact is likely to have a profound impact on social mobility, with the damage caused leading to fewer job opportunities, which will in turn likely fuel greater inequality of opportunity.
This paper covers the impacts on social mobility of the current crisis across the Trust’s priority areas:

• Early Years
• Schools
• Apprenticeships
• Higher Education (including access to university and student finance)
• Access to the Workplace