Make social class a protected characteristic

by Matt Bromley

This article first appeared in The Yorkshire Post newspaper on 8 September 2026. Read the original here.

A recent report by the Sutton Trust called Crossing Paths examines how socio-economic background, gender, ethnicity, and geography interact to shape educational achievement and labour market outcomes for disadvantaged young people in England.

The report argues that disadvantage cannot be understood through a single lens. Rather, educational achievement and later life outcomes are shaped by the interaction of social class, gender, ethnicity and geography. These factors don’t operate in isolation, and while some groups achieve highly in school but face poorer employment prospects, others continue to experience entrenched educational disadvantage. The common thread running through the report is this: socio-economic background remains one of the strongest predictors of life chances.

Among its recommendations is that social class should be recognised as a core dimension of diversity and inclusion. To wit, the report recommends making socio-economic disadvantage a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.

I agree. Indeed, I argued for exactly this in the education press several years ago, and I made the case for it in my 2023 book, The Working Classroom.

The Equality Act protects people from discrimination on the basis of characteristics such as sex, race, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and gender reassignment. These protections rightly recognise that some groups face systemic barriers. Yet one of the greatest determinants of educational success remains absent.

Social class continues to shape opportunities from the earliest years through to adulthood. Working-class children are more likely to experience lower attainment, less likely to progress to higher education, and less likely to enter professional careers. Time and again, research shows that background too often outweighs ability.

That disadvantage is not simply about income; it’s also about access to networks, confidence, cultural knowledge and opportunities that many middle-class families take for granted.

Schools work incredibly hard to address these gaps, but classism can still be embedded within the system itself.

Take the curriculum. Every child should be entitled to an ambitious education, but equality is not always achieved by treating everyone identically. Some pupils need additional experiences and opportunities simply to reach the same starting line. Furthermore, too often, what is defined as “essential knowledge” reflects the experiences and values of more privileged groups, while working-class histories, voices, and cultures remain underrepresented.

Assessment presents similar challenges. Success in examinations frequently depends on advantages outside school: quiet places to study, access to tutoring, parental support, and familiarity with the language and assumptions that underpin exam questions. Schools can mitigate these inequalities, but they cannot eliminate them alone.

Then there is the hidden curriculum: the unwritten rules, expectations and assumptions that shape school life. From behaviour policies to enrichment opportunities, we should continually ask whether our systems unintentionally favour those already equipped with the cultural capital to navigate them.

Recognising social class as a protected characteristic would not solve these problems overnight. Nor would it lower expectations or create a hierarchy of disadvantage. Rather, it would acknowledge that discrimination and structural disadvantage based on class are real and require deliberate action.

Just as schools have a duty to advance equality for other protected groups, they would be expected to identify and reduce barriers facing working-class pupils, meet their specific needs, and ensure they can participate fully in every aspect of school life.

The Sutton Trust’s recommendation is therefore much more than a legal technicality; it’s an invitation to rethink what educational equality really means.

If we genuinely believe that talent is spread evenly but opportunity is not, then our laws should reflect that belief. Making social class the tenth protected characteristic would be an important step towards an education system that values potential over privilege.