Whatever Happened to Educational Priority Areas?

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Abstract
A policy of positive discrimination in favour of Educational Priority Areas (EPAs) was one of the key proposals in the Plowden Report—one which received immediate and widespread support. Within a few years the basis for a national programme had been laid, with initiatives at central and local government level, an action‐research programme and an active lobby, though resources were always limited. However, far from taking off in the 1970s the EPA programme had faltered and all but disappeared by the end of the decade. While there were many reasons, central was the failure of the original EPA conception to respond and adapt to changing values, research evidence and the worsening conditions in the inner city. EPA seemed increasingly marginal. However, in recent years there has been a revival of interest in the role of education in the inner city. An EPA approach could give an overall coherence and framework to these initiatives. However, the original conception would now have to be substantially amended.

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