We broadly agree that a good standard of education should be offered offered to all citizens and that good schools can strengthen and stabilise our local communities giving our children and young
people a steady foundation for their future. However, going to a good school is no guarantee of a child’s ability to improve their life chances if the complications of accessing help at home are to be considered. A representative from Kings Hedges Family Support Group has observed that growing inaccessibility to social care and services means that many families miss out on getting help when their children are young, entrenching these members of our society in patterns of inequality that follow them throughout their lives. According to this spokesperson, having a space to study at home and having parents who provide books to read makes a bigger difference than going to a school attended by children from different socio-economic backgrounds. [1]
This also feeds into the cultural capital of Cambridge’s young people from deprived backgrounds which has been considered by those running the Cambridge Junction. They identified that there is a need for children to have a greater sense of ownership of cultural capital across socio-economic boundaries. If a child comes from a family who cannot afford to travel to a cultural event/activity or to buy refreshments whilst there then this of course prevents them from engaging with that activity and cuts that child/children off from valuable cultural engagements that others of their age group benefit from. There needs to be ways of giving ownership of the arts to those young people who don’t feel it’s for them. In terms of how Cambridge is going to help its disadvantaged citizens gain better accessibility to community, sports and leisure facilities, three barriers have to be overcome. First, those most affected by inequality cannot be easily reached. Regardless of the multitude of Cambridge organisations that exist to assist our residents with the lived consequences of core inequality, Cambridge’s core inequality will only be properly addressed once those who really need help are effectively targeted. Second, there is a lack of effective frameworks and resources in the areas that are most affected by inequality. After all, setting up these structures requires dedicated time and energy that local people just cannot afford even if the funds are there to do it. Third, there is an absence of real understanding of the existing inequality in Cambridge, and a corresponding lack of real motivation to help the communities most affected. [1] In Cambridge a “wide cultural gap exists between those at opposing ends of the inequality spectrum who have very little contact with each other.” [1]
Further, concerning access to Cambridge’s recreational green open spaces, we would like to see more access to green spaces for the residents of Abbey, Arbury and Kings Hedges. We object to the City Council having built on an open space alongside the Meadows Community Centre in Arbury and would like to see the City Council turning the existing open spaces in Arbury into spaces for
recreational use.
[1] https://www.thecambridgecommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Cambridge-Commons-SIPFinal-
Report-1.pdf