Improving literacy means a book – or an iPad – at bedtime, say researchers

If ministers want to boost reading and maths scores in schools, they must involve parents, according to social mobility experts

Bev Wong, a single parent from Brixton, south London, would never have taken her teenage daughters to visit a university like Oxford. It wasn't just that she and other mums in her community didn't believe elite universities wanted black state school kids. They also couldn't afford the public transport to get there.

But after being approached in her local church, Wong became part of Parent Power, a programme run by the prestigious King's College London and the community organising charity Citizens UK. The aim of the project was to listen to what was deterring under-represented parents from encouraging their kids to go to selective universities, and then train groups of parents up to talk to others and campaign for a level playing field in education for their children.