The Change Makers

Pt 1: Katrina Moffat, North Tyneside Learning Trust on supporting young people to thrive in the face of inequality.

• Lydia Parkin and Clare Edwards

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It is a fact that in the UK, if you are born to wealthy parents you are more likely to do better at school, progress to university and secure higher paid jobs.  A country that is socially mobile offers equal opportunities to everyone, regardless of whether your parents are rich or poor, but the UK has one of the lowest social mobility rates compared to most major EU countries. Recent data shows that inequality is worsening.

Katrina Moffat is working to change this. She is a project manager at North Tyneside Learning Trust, working with schools across the region to improve education and life chances for the young people that attend. The North East has some of the worst outcomes for young people, with typically lower higher education entry rate and last year, exam results reflected a widening gap between the north and the south.

After being exposed to this unfair reality in her early career, Katrina has supported hundreds, if not thousands, of young people to thrive in the face of inequality.

And if that isn’t enough, she has also volunteered for Girlguiding for nearly 20 years. So, we’ve split this meaty conversation in two. In part one we’ll be delving into social mobility, what it means, what challenges young people are facing – through no fault of their own – and what work Katrina is doing to change this incredibly complex issue.