Policy paper

Technical annex C: glossary

Updated 21 July 2022

Absolute social mobility

This is the idea that people have a good chance to achieve different life outcomes from their parents.

Absolute mobility rates look at the proportion of the population who are in different positions (often occupational class or income) from their parents, and are usually given as a simple percentage.

For example, a person experiences upward absolute income mobility if their income is greater than their parents’ income. They experience upward absolute occupational mobility if their occupation class is higher than their parents’. Mobility can also be downward.

Apprenticeships

A work-based training system, where apprentices earn a qualification after completing a blended mix of study and work.

Apprentices must complete 20% of their training off the job, be paid the apprenticeship minimum wage (£4.81/hour for those aged 19 years and over) and pass an end point assessment.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

A scheme offered by the UK Government to provide grants to employers to ensure that they can retain and continue to pay staff, despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Class pay gap

The difference in average pay between people from different class backgrounds.

Early years foundation stage profile (EYFSP)

The early years foundation stage profile (EYFSP) sets standards in England for the learning, development and care of a child from birth to 5 years old. All schools and Ofsted-registered early years providers must follow the EYFSP, including childminders, pre-schools, nurseries and school reception classes. There are different early years standards in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Economically inactive

Individuals that are out of work and not looking for a job. Reasons for this include sickness, looking after family, and being a student, amongst other reasons.

Free school meals (FSM)

In England, a free school meal (FSM) is a statutory benefit available to school-aged children from families who receive other qualifying benefits and who have been through the relevant registration process. FSM eligibility is often used as a proxy measure for disadvantage in school-aged children.

Free school meal eligibility is the only available measure of pupils’ social background in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, a completely different area-based measure of social background is used, the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).

FSM only includes those who have both applied for and been deemed eligible by the relevant local authority. It excludes an unknown number of people who might have been deemed eligible had they applied, and also includes many relatively affluent families.

Further education (FE)

Typically refers to classroom-based learning at further education (FE) colleges or providers. Students can start at age 14 or 16 years, depending on the college.

General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)

The GCSE is an academic qualification taken in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, normally age 16 years. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead.

Higher education (HE)

Typically refers to post-secondary education, or tertiary education, leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completion of secondary education.

Income mobility

See social mobility, absolute social mobility and relative social mobility.

Intermediate (occupations)

See NS-SEC.

Key stage 2

The 4 years of schooling in England and Wales, described as year 3, year 4, year 5 and year 6, when pupils are aged between 7 and 11 years. Key stage 2 SATs (National Curriculum tests) are taken by pupils aged 11 years at the end of year 6, which is, usually, the final year in primary school.

Key stage 4

The 2 years of schooling known as year 10 and year 11, when pupils are aged between 14 and 16 years. Most pupils take their final general certificate of secondary education (GCSE) exams at the end of year 11.

Labour Force Survey (LFS)

The LFS is a large-scale nationally-representative government survey that covers England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The survey is managed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in Great Britain, and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) in Northern Ireland.

Its purpose is to provide information on the UK labour market which can then be used to develop, manage, evaluate and report on labour market policies.

National minimum wage

The minimum wage that an employer must pay its workforce. For those aged over 23 years, it is currently set at £9.50, an amount known as the ‘national living wage’. There are lower national minimum wages amounts for younger people. In this report, this is referred to as the minimum wage.

Not in education, employment or training (NEET)

The annual publication of national participation figures of young people aged 16 to 18 years includes a measure of those who are NEET, or not in education, employment or training.

The National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC)

This is the best national measure to monitor occupational social mobility. We define an individual’s socio-economic background according to the occupation of their higher- earning parent:

• Professional/managerial: NS-SEC 1 and 2 – managerial and professional. Examples include CEOs, senior police officers, doctors, journalists, barristers, solicitors, teachers and nurses.

• Intermediate: NS-SEC 3 and 4. Examples include: shopkeepers, paramedics, and police officers.

• Working class: NS-SEC 5, 6, and 7 – routine and manual. Examples include receptionists, electricians, plumbers, butchers and van drivers.

Occupational mobility

See social mobility, absolute social mobility and relative social mobility

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

The OECD is an international organisation of 38 countries committed to democracy and the market economy. We use the 37 other member states as international comparators to the UK.

Professional, professional/ managerial (occupations)

See NS-SEC.

Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)

PISA is the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment. PISA measures 15-year-olds’ ability to use their reading, mathematics and science knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges.
## Pupil Premium

A sum of money given by the UK government to schools in England to improve the attainment of disadvantaged children.

Relative poverty

This is one measure of poverty. A household is in relative poverty if its income is below 60% of the average (median) net household income in the same year. In other words, the pound amount of the poverty line changes each year based on current median income in the country.

We can look at relative poverty in 2 ways: before and after housing costs. We look at poverty after housing costs to see how much households have in disposable income.

Relative social mobility

This is the idea that your parents’ position in society doesn’t determine your position in society, especially in terms of occupational class and income.

Relative mobility rates compare the chances that people from different backgrounds have of ending up with a particular occupational class or income. They are usually given as a ratio or a similar statistic (such as a slope in a regression model).

Relative mobility is low if almost everyone ends up in a similar social position as their parents. For example, if parents in the bottom decile of earnings have children that mostly end up in the bottom decile of earnings.

While absolute and relative social mobility often go together, they are not the same concept. For example, if a society creates more professional jobs, absolute occupational mobility should improve. But if most of these professional jobs go to people from professional backgrounds, relative social mobility may remain static.

Social mobility

Social mobility means the link between our starting point in life, and where we end up. When our starting point strongly determines where we end up, mobility is low. But if people from all starting points and backgrounds have a good chance of achieving any outcome, then mobility is high. To measure it, we focus on the key mobility outcome of occupational class, and add further outcomes like income, wealth, education and housing, as the data allows. See relative social mobility and absolute social mobility.

Social Mobility index (SMI)

The Social Mobility index is a long-term measurement framework for social mobility in the UK. It replaces the Commission’s original Social Mobility index, launched in 2016. This new index provides a critical starting point to improve the evidence base and goes well beyond solely reporting on the drivers of mobility.

We report on social mobility outcomes which show where people end up in comparison with where they started. This is across a range of outcomes of interest, including occupational class, income, education, and either at an earlier stage in their lives in their 20s and 30s (intermediate outcomes), or a later stage in their 40s and 50s (mobility outcomes).

Socio-economic classification, background

See NS-SEC.

UCAS

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service – a nonprofit organisation which conducts the application process for UK universities.

Understanding Society, The UK Household Longitudinal Survey (UKHLS)

The UKHLS is a longitudinal survey of the members of approximately 40,000 households in the UK. The study is based at the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex.

The purpose of UKHLS is to provide high-quality longitudinal data on subjects such as health, work, education, income, family, and social life. This helps to understand the long-term effects of social and economic change, as well as policy interventions designed to impact the general wellbeing of the UK population.

Working-class occupations

See NS-SEC.