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Abstract
The UK has extremely high levels of socio-economic inequality, which are predicted to rise over the next five years. Traditionally, equality law was seen as inappropriate to address socio-economic inequality but in the last decade, a growing number of equality duties have been introduced to address this persistent form of inequality. There is, however, little research on the principles that underpin these duties. This article seeks to address this gap through the use of data from interviews conducted with primary school personnel implementing the pupil premium. The article explores understandings of socio-economic inequality by individuals in schools; policy conflicts; the wider context of action to address socio-economic inequality; different decision-making processes; and accountability mechanisms. On the basis of the findings of this study, broad principles are outlined to inform the design, implementation and enforcement of socio-economic equality duties in the future.
Acknowledgements
I am extremely grateful to the editors, the two anonymous reviewers for their detailed and constructive comments, and to Helen Hall, Tom Lewis, Tonia Novitz and Tony Prosser for taking the time to read previous drafts of this article and providing very helpful feedback. I also wish to thank all the participants at the History, Human Rights and Law conference at Pembroke College, Oxford in August 2015 who provided a friendly yet critical environment in which to discuss the issues raised in the article. Finally, I am especially appreciative of the individuals at the nine schools who took time out of their very busy schedules to be interviewed.