Our AFIS members will be aware of our ๐ฝ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ campaign in the run up to the next election.
A key part of this is our research and advocacy work to correct the divisive narratives and crude assumptions about children and families.
Our petition to stop the unhelpful labelling of children as โstate vs independentโ is now live. Click here to have your say!
(AND we will soon launch a fairer SOLUTION to the problem).
Peter Hogan, AFIS Chair, explains why this matters so much:
Profiling children based on school type is a flawed practice because it replaces a childโs unique identity with a rigid, inaccurate stereotype.
For too long, school type has been used as a lazy, inaccurate shorthand for socio-economic status. This binary (state-private) narrative is not just outdated; it is factually incorrect. This proxy-based approach creates several systemic issues:
๐ญ. ๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ I๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐
Labels assume a monolith that doesn't exist. There is vast socio-economic diversity within both sectors; profiling ignores the low-income student on a scholarship at an independent school, while overlooking the wealthy majority who attend state schools. It judges the badge, not the person.
๐ฎ. ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐น๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
When institutions use school labels to gatekeep funding & opportunities, they use a blunt instrument. They misdirect support toward those who may not need it and bypass genuinely disadvantaged individuals who do not fit the expected profile.
๐ฏ. ๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐
Profiling haunts children into adulthood. Media framing, such as using "former private schoolboy" in reporting, implies that a school has defined one's character.
๐ฐ. ๐๐ ๐จ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐
A fair society should reward talent and effort. Profiling does the opposite by pre-judging potential based on institutional choice and this is a choice usually made by parents, not the child. It strips away individual agency in favour of categorical bias.
Recent analysis by AFIS reveals that there are roughly four times as many pupils from the highest-earning households in state schools as there are in independent schools. When policymakers, institutions and the media use institutional labels to gatekeep frame narratives, they ignore the lived realities of families.
We are not seeking special treatment; we are demanding accuracy. Whether it is the irrelevant mention of a past school in crime reporting or the exclusion of students from outreach programmes based on the name of their school, these practices undermine the very social mobility they claim to support.
True fairness requires us to look at the individual, not the badge on their blazer. It is time for a more nuanced, data-driven conversation that respects the complexity of every child's journey.
Sign the petition today and have your say ๐ Click here to take part
