Our new report on social and emotional learning

At Impetus we believe that before a young person is ready to succeed at school, they must be ready to learn. Today we are publishing a new “state of the nation” report with the Centre for Education and Youth on social and emotional learning, which sets out what’s happening in practice and where we could go next.

Our report coincides with new survey results from Teacher Tapp* showing that 92 per cent of teachers agree that social and emotional learning is crucial for attainment in school. In particular, 60 per cent of headteachers surveyed believe strongly that these skills make a difference to academic success.

However, despite this support from headteachers, 76 per cent of teachers when asked said they had spent an hour or less that day developing social and emotional skills in the classroom, with 27 per cent spending no time at all.

Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are 40% less likely to attain GCSE maths and English by age 19. Passing these crucial exams gives them a greater chance of going on to higher education and finding and keeping a job – giving them the opportunity to lead the lives they want.

The Education Endowment Foundation found that the development of skills like managing emotions, empathy, ability to establish and maintain supportive relationships and make responsible decisions – can drive up to four months of academic progress.

That’s why, this year, we invested in three new social and emotional learning charities, Jon Egging Trust, Khulisa and Kids Inspire, building on our existing support of Football Beyond Borders and West London Zone. Find out more about them here.

We hope this report will provide a foundation to build consensus on what good looks like, so that we can embed social and emotional learning in a way that works in our education system, and make sure that all young people, regardless of their background, can have the same life chances.

If you’re reading this report, we’d love for you to be part of the conversation. Do reach out at policy@impetus.org.uk to join in.

*Teacher Tapp is a daily survey app that asks over 7,000 teachers questions each day and reweights the results to make them representative.