It's not all about money of course. Even if money was available (which it isn't), throwing it at the problem would make little difference. Kids need real opportunities, together with personal qualities such as resilience, self-belief and positivity. Here, we can learn a lot from those who have succeeded in breaking the cycle, who have overcome multiple disadvantages to succeed in life.

Part of the conversation at disrupting poverty got round to education, and this is where performance measurement comes it. At present, our education system is measured almost entirely on academic attainment: how many GCSEs, A-levels or other qualifications young people achieve.
But we are saying that young people need more than this; they also need the other personal qualities and opportunities highlighted above. How likely are they to get all this when exam results are virtually all that matters to our schools?
I speak from my own experience, because despite achieving (many years ago) 10 O-levels and 5 A-levels I view myself as a educational failure. Why? Because I went on to university without any real idea why I was there, and dropped out after just over a year. I got by OK, but was only some 20 years later - largely by chance - but I discovered my real vocation.
We can only change this by changing how we assess the effectiveness of education. I'm not suggesting that exams are irrelevant, simply that they are only part of the picture. We also need to measure how 'life-ready' young people are when they leave education, and the extent to which the system helps everyone to fulfil their potential.
How we do this is not easy and I don't profess to have all the answers. But here's just one idea: suppose that the assessment of secondary schools' performance included the proportion of their students who are NEET (Not in Education Employment or Training), say, six months after leaving school. I recognise that many schools make efforts to reduce this already but a performance indicator of this type, alongside exam results, would surely broaden the focus of education and get everyone looking for that magic spark that exists in all youngsters.
A lot of change is needed to achieve this, but it starts by all of us understanding the problem. We need to demand that education is more than just an exam-passing system, but contributes to releasing the full potential of every young person.
Check my web site at www.real-improvement.com for more information and ideas.