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About LKMco

We believe society should ensure all children and young people receive the support they need to make a fulfilling transition to adulthood. We work towards this belief by articulating a vision for a society which does so, inspiring a desire to pursue it and enabling organisations to achieve it … Read More

Latest Reports

Inside the black box: how high-performing schools create a positive culture

8th August 2018

Anyone who has visited a range of schools soon notices the subtle but distinctive feel of different school cultures. Now, our latest research report, published today by the Department for Education, sets out in detail how these subtle differences can be pinned down in more concrete terms, and identifies the…

Partners in Progression: Engaging parents in university access

12th July 2018

Universities should work with parents to increase access to university, according to a new report published today by King’s College London’s Widening Participation Department and LKMco. The recommendation comes in response to the finding that 95% of parents have concerns about their child going to university, including worries about debt,…

What Does It Take For A Child To Get Help With Their Mental Health?

21st June 2018

Our new report published today lays bare the scale and severity of the UK’s Youth Mental health crisis, showing that children in desperate need are being refused help. One young person was told a suicide attempt was ‘not serious enough’ for them to access support and another to put their ‘chin…

Struggling schools bearing the brunt of school funding cuts

17th October 2018

Combining yesterday’s provisional GCSE results with data from the School Cuts website reveals that it is England’s lowest performing schools that are facing the biggest drops in per-pupil funding. The secondary schools who performed least well according to yesterday’s data are losing an average of £237 per pupil (a 4.1%…

How high-performing schools create a positive culture – sector press picks up our report for the DfE

17th October 2018

Last month we published a report on school cultures and practices that support the attainment of disadvantaged pupils, commissioned by the Department for Education. We’re delighted to see the report being picked up in the sector press, and hope this will encourage teachers and school leaders up and down the country…

Don’t forget the field! Why researchers should speak to teachers, parents and pupils

12th October 2018

“The distance between those in the classroom and those of us trying to help from the outside has increased exponentially” These are the words of Karen Wespieser in her article “From Ivory Towers to the Chalkface” in today’s TES. Karen is a researcher who has spent nearly twenty-years designing research…

Why I no longer believe in social mobility

8th October 2018

Social mobility has long been the holy grail in the education sector – so why don’t I believe in it any more? “The only conclusion I could deduce as to the point of education was quite simple: the system exists to get me beyond where I’m from” This quote from…

‘Evidence-based’ education policy – aspiration or fantasy?

19th September 2018

Despite widespread calls for more ‘evidence-based’ education policy, I’m not entirely convinced – either by its possibility or desirability. Given that I work for an organisation that conducts research to help shape education policy, this might seem surprising. However, it’s about time we moved away from New Labour’s “what counts…

Making Waves: Maybe it’s you who has the answer!

14th September 2018

We are very excited to be launching a new 18 month project with Pearson, exploring: How the workload associated with assessment can be reduced; and, How teachers’ professional expertise in relation to assessment can be developed. The project is kicking off with our first ever ‘crowd-sourcing’ campaign, asking teachers, schools…

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