Promoting equity is a policy challenge facing education systems throughout the world, not least in the United Kingdom where there are continuing concerns about the progress of learners from disadvantaged backgrounds. This paper draws on the experience of its author within a series of large-scale government-funded improvement initiatives to address this agenda. These have illustrated how contexts shape the progress of such efforts. In particular, the paper explores how the different national contexts of England, Scotland and Wales have influenced the way that change-strategies proceeded. Reflecting on the implications of these differences, the paper makes a series of suggestions as to how progress towards educational equity can be achieved.