Millions of children suffer from a ‘hidden exclusion’ from education. They may appear to be included – they are in school. But in reality, they are learning little or nothing. What’s more, the poorest and most marginalised children are often most likely to be failed by poor-quality schooling. Our generation has the opportunity to ensure that no child is excluded from learning. As this report sets out, an ambitious post-2015 global learning goal, with a strong focus on the most deprived children, will be a crucial part of realising this vision.

Our proposed focus for the goal, targets and framework post-2015 is grounded, in part, in an analysis of the social, demographic, economic and political changes that are  shaping the wider world. Many of these forces are creating a very different context to that which existed in 2000 when the Millennium Development Goals were set. This report explores a number of these trends. Five of the most noteworthy have particular consequences for education post-2015:

• To help reduce damaging levels of income inequality in societies, post-2015 frameworks will need to focus on reducing educational inequity: this means equal opportunities to learn for all children, including the most marginalised.
• To respond to the growth and demands of the ‘middle classes’ in many countries, publicallyfunded education, whether delivered by the state or another provider, will need to improve the quality of the education provided.
• To respond to demographic changes and youth bulges, many countries will require a new attention on young people, but substantial focus will need to remain on basic education – ensuring widespread acquisition of basic skills remains critical to achieving shared economic growth.
• To recognise the critical role of civil society in demanding greater educational investment and improved quality in newly middle-income countries, a post-2015 framework will need to help empower domestic civil society organisations.
• To ensure millions of children affected by humanitarian emergencies are able to access a good quality education, the global humanitarian community and countries affected will need to plan efficiently, adopt innovative approaches and ensure education is adequately financed so that
• learning happens in every context.