Student voice – We Need to Talk about Education

What good is school? Let’s hear it from the kids…

How better to highlight educational inequality in England than by talking to the pupils themselves? This was the headline and opening sentence of an article in Sunday’s Observer.

Politicians, academics, commentators: everyone has a voice in education except the students themselves. Yet their aspirations are what education is about, and they are the ones who face the challenges of struggling schools, deprived communities and families under stress. The article provided extracts from a new book, ‘We Need to Talk about Education’, by author Ben Faccini and film-maker Greg Villalobos, backed by Teach First. Over the past 18 months they spent time in low-income communities across the country, listening to young people, and those who surround and support them, about their hopes and dreams for the future, and what challenges they face in realising their ambitions.

Young people such as these do not lack aspiration. But they may not have the confidence and belief, or the skills and know-how, or the support mechanisms and contacts that are required to turn hopes and dreams into realistic ambitions. Which of course is where education comes in.

To the opening lines one might add … How better to improve educational opportunity in England than by engaging the students? Which is where Learn to lead comes in! As the Foreword states: “It is only by listening, first hand, to the stories of young people, such as those in this book, that we can hope to understand and go on to address this inequality, ensuring every child has the chance to succeed in life.”