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<p>The department aims to provide every child and young person with world-class education,
training and care regardless of their background or where they come from.</p><p>Opportunity
Areas (OAs) in England are at the heart of our work to learn what works best in areas
with entrenched social mobility barriers so that we can roll out successful approaches
across the country. We chose these 12 areas to make sure that there was a geographical
spread, allowing us to test approaches in a rural context as well as in urban and
coastal locations.</p><p>Outside of the work undertaken in OAs, the department has
made no assessment of social exclusion in rural areas. However, we are aware of the
contribution that schools make to rural communities, which is why we support the presumption
against the closure of rural schools in England.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
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