The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Social Mobility has published a Character and Resilience Manifesto, outlining steps it believes government and schools should take to better support young people’s development.

This manifesto stems from a 2012 report, published by the APPG on Social Mobility, highlighting ‘seven key truths about social mobility’. This report concluded that “personal resilience and emotional wellbeing are the missing link in the chain”, and challenged policy makers to “recognise that social and emotional ‘skills’ underpin academic and other success – and can be taught”.

The new manifesto outlines a series of practical policy recommendations and include developing a best practice tool-kit for interventions that aid Character and Resilience (for specific use in conjunction with the Pupil Premium), and making participation in ‘extra’-curricular activities a formal aspect of teachers’ contracts of employment.

The report’s recommendations have been welcomed by, among others, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Education Secretary Michael Gove, and Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt.

The APPG on Social Mobility has developed the manifesto in partnership with Centre Forum and Character Counts. Visit the Centre Forum website to download the full report or summary of its release.

Learning Away believes that high-quality residential learning experiences can play a key role in developing a young person’s resilience, responsibility, and attitude to risk. Hear from teachers involved in our action research and read the latest evaluation evidence from our external evaluators, here.