White working-class children failed by education system, says inquiry. Once-in-a-generation reforms are needed to fix an education system that "is not serving the interests of white working-class children", an independent inquiry has concluded. It was set up last summer to look into why such children are the lowest-performing large demographic in the school system in England. Inquiry co-chair Baroness Estelle Morris said responsibility "cannot sit with schools alone" and was not due to a lack of aspiration or effort from young people. Education data about white working class pupils was also analysed as part of the year-long review, looking at the 1.25 million young people in England who are white British and in receipt of free school meals. Baroness Morris, who was education secretary under Tony Blair's Labour government from 2001 to 2002, said none of the initiatives rolled out in the past 30 years had significantly or sustainably boosted the performance of white working-class children in school.