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Thank you for that introduction and thank you to Reform, KPMG and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation for bringing us all together today. I鈥檓 so pleased to have this chance to speak to all of you.

I鈥檓 going to talk about three things:

• Firstly, the problem: why Britain has never cracked social mobility;

• Secondly, solutions: my ambitions for helping everyone to become the best version of themselves through their education; and

• Thirdly, everyone鈥檚 problem needs everyone鈥檚 solution 鈥� if we鈥檙e going to achieve anything then social mobility, equality of opportunity needs to be a common ambition 鈥� with schools, colleges, universities, but also businesses, civil society, local communities all playing their part.

The problem

So, firstly, setting out the problem. And I think of all the speeches I鈥檝e made, this might be the most personal.

Because social mobility has been such an important part of my own life, I didn鈥檛 think I鈥檇 get to where I am now. Looking ahead as a child, I鈥檓 not sure I could ever have guessed I鈥檇 be doing what I鈥檓 doing.

I went back to my old school last month, Oakwood Comprehensive in Rotherham. We all start somewhere and that school was my start.

I spoke to some of the children who are there now, and met some of the teachers who taught me. It was a fantastic visit. And as I looked at the children there now, you can鈥檛 help ask a simple question: who could they be.

And that questions matters because too often in this country the answer to that question 鈥� for any child 鈥� is too much about where they happen to start.

The reality is that in modern Britain where you start still too often decides where you finish.

This is a defining challenge for us as a nation. We have talent spread evenly across this great country 鈥� the problem is that opportunity isn鈥檛.

And for many people it鈥檚 a whole lifespan of missed opportunities. If you start school behind on your vocabulary and language skills, often you don鈥檛 catch up.

By the time you鈥檙e 11 you鈥檙e on a different path to your better off classmates, by the time you鈥檙e 16 and leaving school 鈥� you鈥檙e in a totally different place.

And once you enter the workforce, you may well have fallen too far behind to even think about competing for the most rewarding jobs. And, worst of all it鈥檚 always been like that for some people and some places in Britain.

But it doesn鈥檛 have to be.

And if we want to move things on from purely discussing the problem to articulating a real solution then we have to start by asking why haven鈥檛 we cracked it already? Why has social mobility been static for so long?

And I think it comes down to a number of things:

• A simplistic search for the silver bullet policy, a magic wand that grants equality of opportunity at a stroke.

• The fact that so many worthy social mobility initiatives have been driven by government alone. And that has meant chopping and changing on policy 鈥� with no longevity to any approach.

• There鈥檚 been insufficient involvement from businesses, employers 鈥� who are, in any country, the opportunity makers.

• Too often improving social mobility has been done to local communities rather than with them. We鈥檝e had one size fits all policies, when what works in Derby is often, generally, going to be different to what works in Scarborough.

• And for an individual, government鈥檚 attempts to improve their prospects have tended to come at sporadic moments in their life 鈥� sometimes when it鈥檚 already too late.

A new approach

So how do we move towards a solution?

I鈥檓 an optimist 鈥� I was optimistic about what I could achieve in my life and I鈥檓 optimistic about us changing the status quo in Britain today, and making sure that every child can go as far as their talent and hard work takes them.

To achieve this, I believe we need a new approach that鈥檚:

• Comprehensive 鈥� not just one silver bullet, but a portfolio, a strategy.

• An approach that works across someone鈥檚 whole life.

• A national strategy 鈥� but tailored for different local areas.

• And a common mission that is shared not just by government but also by business, civil society and communities.

And today, I鈥檓 launching a plan which puts improving social mobility at the heart of all our education policy, for the first time. Schools and teachers are at the centre of this but they can鈥檛 tackle this on their own.

This will be driven by a Department for Education that finally now has all the right pieces under the same roof: from early years, to schools, to universities, to technical education, to apprenticeships, to adult learning.

And our plan doesn鈥檛 shy away from the complexities of tackling social mobility but it does put a structure, an architecture to it, to enable us to work in a more coordinated way.

So how does it fit together?

This plan is about education but it sits alongside wider Government efforts to create jobs, invest in housing and our new Industrial Strategy.

Crucially, the overarching ambition of this plan is to leave no community behind. We will relentlessly target effort and resources at the parts of our country where people have the toughest challenges and fewest opportunities.

I鈥檓 talking about those places where disadvantage builds and then accumulates. Where the schools and colleges struggle. Teachers aren鈥檛 attracted to work there, businesses don鈥檛 grow and invest there because there isn鈥檛 a ready-made skilled workforce on their doorstep.

And so talented young people, and these communities produce every bit as much talent as many others, have to leave to find opportunity elsewhere and the place stays as it was and local businesses still don鈥檛 do any better.

We need to reverse these negative cycles and that starts with education.

Right now we are now investing 拢41 billion in schools and that鈥檚 due to go up. Resourcing does matter. If we could buy our way out of this problem we鈥檇 have done it by now 鈥� but I鈥檓 determined to be more strategic about that investment and make sure our resources are targeted at those communities and schools that need them most.

So we鈥檒l be targeting over 拢800 million of our current investment towards the more disadvantaged people and places.

I鈥檓 clear that this is the right thing to do 鈥� because everyone deserves a fair shot in life.

But unlocking Britain鈥檚 hidden talent is also the smart thing if we want to build a Britain that鈥檚 fit for the future. It鈥檚 an economic imperative as well as a social one.

Because if we could even just improve the attainment of disadvantaged children across the whole country to the same level as disadvantaged children in London, this alone would provide a boost of more than 拢20 billion to our economy.

And, ultimately, there is no question that if we鈥檙e going to make the most of ourselves as a country, and make Brexit a success then we need to make sure every person and every place is fulfilling its potential.

Lifestage ambitions

So all that means that no community left behind is our first overarching ambition. We will also take a whole life approach with four core life stage ambitions for overcoming disadvantage at every stage of someone鈥檚 life.

These ambitions are logical, they may seem obvious 鈥� but in the past we haven鈥檛 structured our work together like this. And if we achieve them, we can change this country for the better.

So, Ambition One starts at the beginning with the early years, improving early language and literacy so all children have the best start to their education, and can get on the right path, literally from day one.

And the research is clear 鈥� falling behind early on has a profound impact. Some children simply have less vocabulary, less reading ability, poorer language skills, so they can鈥檛 understand as much when they get to school and they can鈥檛 communicate as well as they need to.

And, actually, it is incredibly difficult for them to ever to catch up. If you鈥檙e not at the expected standard in language aged 5 then you鈥檙e eleven times less likely to achieve the expected level in maths at age 11.

That is why I am putting early language and literacy, closing the word gap, right at the top of my to do list.

We鈥檙e introducing new English hubs that will train specialist teachers in literacy and closing the word gap 鈥� these specialists will focus on the schools that need this most, in the most disadvantaged areas of the country.

Today I鈥檓 also announcing 拢50 million investment for nurseries in schools, which will be targeted at disadvantaged children so that the children who can benefit the most from high quality provision have more high quality places available.

We are also investing 拢20 million in the development of early years professionals.

And we will mobilise others who are in a position to help. We will train Health Visitors who routinely check on a child鈥檚 health at the age of two, on how to identify children who are already getting left behind on language skills 鈥� and how to support the parents who, overwhelmingly, want to do their best for their children but need to know better how.

Ambition Two and we move into school years, a more established part of the strategy. Closing the attainment gap, and making sure every child is at a good school where they can achieve their true potential.

We start here from a strong base 鈥� the reforms we鈥檝e made over the last seven years have transformed much of the education system.

And standards are rising:

• There are an 1.9 million more children in good or outstanding schools since 2010.

• And thanks to our increased emphasis on phonics pupils in English schools are rising up the international league table in reading and literacy.

But it鈥檚 not everywhere and it鈥檚 not for every child.

In eleven London boroughs all children attend a good or outstanding secondary school; but only one in five pupils in Blackpool and Knowsley do.

This is a systemic problem and to change things we need to shift our focus. By investing in the teaching, the professionals on the frontline 鈥� developing the home grown teaching talent that鈥檚 already there and is the key to school improvement. And tomorrow I鈥檒l be launching a consultation on strengthening Qualified Teacher Status.

And we will make schools in the more challenged areas real career hotspots by investing in the development of the teachers who go to build a career there.

And we鈥檒l do more to make sure our strongest tools for school improvement are targeted towards the areas that need the most.

At the same time, we鈥檙e working on a new targeted approach for the most vulnerable children 鈥� Looked After Children, Children in Need, Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. It鈥檚 not acceptable that these children鈥檚 life chances are so much worse than their peers 鈥� they deserve a fair chance, like everyone else.

And for those bright children from less well off backgrounds who need a bit of extra help to fulfil their potential, I鈥檓 announcing a 拢23 million Future Talent programme, something I know the Sutton Trust has called for, for some time.

The attainment gap is closing but with our Ambition Two we need to work out how to close it once and for all.

Ambition Three is improving post 16 choices so all young people have the world class skills and qualifications to get on.

A key area here is technical education. We know that for too long, too many students going to Further Education colleges to gain a vocational or technical qualification have had to settle for second best.

They鈥檝e had to navigate between thousands and thousands of possible qualifications 鈥� many of which hold little value to employers and don鈥檛 actually lead to the job they were hoping for.

And this, disproportionately, affects the most left behind places and people. Just under 75% of young people in Barnsley do Further Education 鈥� whereas in Kensington it鈥檚 20%.

So in the greatest shake-up of Technical Education in 70 years we are introducing new T-Levels for 16 to 19 year olds, a proper, high quality alternative to A-Levels focused on routes to skilled employment. These will be backed by 拢500 million investment per year, and goes alongside our wider investment in apprenticeships and new Institutes of Technology.

And this is fundamental: unless we can strengthen post 16 education routes and make them gold standard for all our young people we won鈥檛 crack social mobility and we won鈥檛 make the most of our investment in those young people whilst they鈥檙e in schools and early years.

In summary 鈥� no more compromising on quality in Technical Education.

Ambition Four is making sure everyone can make smart career choices and progress in their careers so when young people do make the leap from education to the job market, it鈥檚 about more than just going into 鈥榳ork鈥�. It鈥檚 about a career, not just a job.

In the past, this has been an area where we鈥檝e essentially let people walk down a career of blind alleys 鈥� and not just at age 16 or 18. We haven鈥檛 offered enough guidance or support to people in work either.

And so too many people don鈥檛 get on the career path they鈥檇 like or that would suit or stretch them, because they lack the networks, the smart advice, the life skills and the confidence that employers look for.

So instead of careers with progression, these people end up trapped in low paying jobs.

We all lose from this.

Because Britain needs more skilled workers. We need more trained engineers, more modern construction workers, more coders.

But you can鈥檛 aim for an opportunity if you don鈥檛 know it exists 鈥� and that鈥檚 why we need businesses to show people the path forward into careers that they never thought were for people like them.

Alongside our Ambition 3, work on technical education, it鈥檚 why for the first time my department is building an unprecedented partnership with businesses up and down the country,

It鈥檚 why we held our first ever Skills Summit with major employers at the DfE two weeks ago.

And I believe business is up for this. In fact, we鈥檝e got leading businesses and employers who are Skills Partners 鈥� committed to work with us.

And we will work together to create millions of career encounters for students, thousands of technical work placements, 3 million apprenticeships, many more in work retraining opportunities.

To achieve all this we must inspire, incentivise and also insist businesses of all sizes to reach out to the places that need the most support, following the example of businesses like KPMG who are second in the Social Mobility Employers Index.

All of this is a journey 鈥� but we have already made a start.

A common ambition

This leads me into my final point. This needs to be for everyone, everywhere, delivered by everybody.

This plan I鈥檓 launching today is a call to arms to join our national mission: to make a better offer to everyone growing up in this country,

To make life about what you can be 鈥� not where or how you start. For everyone to have the chance to become the best version of themselves.

I鈥檝e said that social mobility initiatives in the past have had no longevity 鈥� that鈥檚 why this time we want to focus on building lasting success through partnership.

And so I鈥檓 asking employers, education professionals, communities, voluntary groups and many more to come together and join a united effort to put social mobility at the heart of your work.

This partnership is particularly vital at local level, and I believe we can already point to places where working in Partnership works.

I鈥檝e established local Opportunity Areas in 12 of the places where poor social mobility is most entrenched, bringing together local schools, colleges, local businesses and local authorities to work with us and identify some of the key problems in their areas; be that the lack of good careers advice or too many children starting school behind on their vocabulary.

And they鈥檙e coming up with practical, concrete solutions and priorities. This is what we need 鈥� last mile politics, with national policy, but tailored at a local level and making sure it works in practice.

And it鈥檚 great to have some of the chairs and board members from Opportunity Areas here today. Thank you for everything you are already doing.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we all know what the prize is here. It鈥檚 every young person with opportunity on their doorstep 鈥� so they don鈥檛 have to move away from their roots to find it.

It鈥檚 communities feeling they have an actual stake in this country, an equal shot 鈥� no longer having to watch their best talent get up and go.

It鈥檚 businesses having the skilled workers they need to create prosperity and compete. It鈥檚 our economy finally operating to its true potential 鈥� a post-Brexit Britain that leads the world in skills, productivity and prosperity.

This is about lifting all of us up, smoothing the path for everyone 鈥� it鈥檚 all of us doing better. I believe, together, we can do something transformative.

I鈥檝e said social mobility has been an important part of my own life. And one of the key things I鈥檝e learnt is that optimism matters. A belief you can get to where you want to be.

I have optimism now that as a country we can crack this and get to where we need to be. It will take collective determination, persistence, single-mindedness, sheer bloody-mindedness. And an unbreakable conviction that things can change.

That鈥檚 how I think about this, that鈥檚 how I feel about this. If you care too, if you want equality of opportunity, now is the moment and you need to get involved.

I want everyone to get on board. But for those who want to stay focused on talking about the problem rather than helping with solutions, I ask just one thing 鈥� don鈥檛 complain change isn鈥檛 happening fast enough.

I want the widest coalition possible, one that goes way beyond government. It鈥檚 decision time if you want to play your part.

No country has got this right yet 鈥� but Britain can lead the way.

This should be what we stand for in the 21st century. A country like no other that has unlocked the talents of everyone for the benefit of all. It is possible, and it is now time to make it a reality.

Thank you.