Do Socio-Economic Separations Add to Ethnic Segregation?

Most of the focus of this book has been on ethnic segregation, reflecting the discourse found in the media and prominent in government policy documents. However, there is a strong intersectionality between social and ethnic dis-/advantage, which means processes of socio-economic separation are linked to patterns of ethnic segregation in ways that are not easily disentangled. The purpose of this chapter is not to try and do so but, instead, to look for evidence that within ethnic groups, and within a system of constrained school choice, the more or less affluent have different amounts of segregation from other ethnic groups, with this being related to the different types of school they attend. That evidence is found with those of the White British who are not eligible for Free School Meals generally the most segregated from / least exposed to other ethnic groups, with the effects of academically selective and some religiously selective schools contributing to the differences.

The Changing Ethnic Composition of the School-Age Population

Patterns of ethnic segregation are affected by demographic processes changing the number of each ethnic group living and going to school in a particular area. Notably, the White British formed a smaller proportion of the secondary school aged population in England in 2017 than they did in 2010 because of a decline in the number of White British pupils against a rise in the number of other ethnic groups, except Black Caribbeans. However, nationally the number of White British (but not Black Caribbeans) in primary schools has increased. There are geographical variations in the extent of these changes, with places like Harrow, Redbridge, Newham and Luton seeing greatest percentage declines in their number of White British primary pupils. Nevertheless, many local authorities appear either to be ethnically diverse or are becoming more so.

Conclusion: Ethnic Segregation Is Not Increasing

The book has examined ethnic segregation between English state schools and whether it has increased or decreased over the years since the last major data collection – the national Census of 2011. It has found that high levels of ethnic segregation do exist across schools between the majority White British population and some other ethnic groups such as the Bangladeshi and Pakistani, more so at the primary than secondary level of schooling, and more for those of greater affluence amongst the White British. However, the general trend has been towards desegregation and greater ethnic diversity within local authority areas and their schools. Because school intakes are broadly comparable in their ethnic composition to the characteristics of their surrounding neighbourhoods so as neighbourhoods have become more diverse so too have schools.

Does School Choice Add to Residential Ethnic Segregation?

The English systems of school choice and allocation may result in greater ethnic segregation between schools than between neighbourhoods. This chapter looks at that proposition and asks to what extent school levels of ethnic segregation reflect neighbourhood ethnic composition, where do they not, and for which types of school are the differences greatest? It makes a simple comparison of the segregation between schools and between neighbourhoods then, acknowledging the limitations of that comparison, employs a more sophisticated analysis to compare the diversity of schools’ intakes with what they would look like under a hypothetical system without choice. In the majority of cases, intakes into schools reflect the neighbourhoods that surround them and are not dissimilar to what would be expected under a neighbourhood-based system of pupil allocation. There is little evidence that the current system of school choice raises ethnic segregation substantially.

Ethnic Segregation in England: Discourse and Debate

The idea that ethnic segregation is growing in England is sometimes implied in Government-backed policy documents and reinforced by the media notwithstanding empirical evidence to the contrary. This chapter introduces how debates about segregation have been framed, reproduced and applied to what is happening within schools. It notes a tendency to present segregation as something due to minority groups despite those groups becoming more spread out and living in more mixed neighbourhoods.

Measures of Segregation and Diversity Across Local Authorities

Data about the school age population in Local Education Authorities provide contextual information about what is happening in terms of patterns of ethnic segregation at a broad geographic scale. In regard to the number of each ethnic group per local authority, the White British now have greater potential to be ‘exposed’ to other groups than they did in the past (to reside and be schooled alongside them) because the numbers of those other groups have grown. The reverse is not true, however, because the potential exposure of ‘minority’ groups to the White British has declined with their reduced number or lower growth rate compared to most other groups. All but ten authorities have a more diverse school age population overall.

How Concentrated Are Ethnic Groups in Schools?

The Casey Review cites a study by the think-tank Demos that shows the majority of ethnic minority students attend schools where ‘minority’ groups are in the majority. That statistic is correct but too easily misinterpreted. Only White British students typically are in a school where their own ethnic group forms a majority; for most ethnic minority pupils the largest group they will encounter at school is also the White British. The exceptions to this are the Bangladeshi and Pakistani groups, and more so in primary than in secondary schools. Nevertheless, the overwhelming trend is that schools are becoming more ethnically diverse with an increased potential for pupils to be educated alongside pupils of other ethnic groups.