Bristol is Failing at Social Mobility with Bad Early Years Provision and Low Home Ownership

Bristol and the South West in general really isn’t doing well in terms of social mobility.

A new report released today – State of the Nation 2017: Social Mobility in Great Britain – finds Bristol ranked at 228 out of 324 cities in England.

According to its findings, children who are disadvantaged do ‘very badly’ in the city. Much of this is attributed to our early years provisions and low proportion of families owning their own home.

The South West was found to have below average early years outcomes with Bristol in particular having some of the lowest quality childcare in the entire country.

When it comes to children in deprivation, few attend the most selective universities in the country. There are two major universities in the city. Bristol University is a Red Brick institution not only on our doorstep, but in the very heart of the city.

The findings in this report are not shocking. People in the city fight cut after cut after cut. From services to support people with disabilities to keeping the library doors open. In Lawrence Hill or St Judes where we are based, you need only look out of the window to see the effects of this deprivation first hand.