Ministers to set out plans to halve attainment gap in England’s schools | School funding
Plans to halve the attainment gap between the poorest pupils in England and their wealthier peers will be set out by the government on Monday.
The schools white paper will detail proposals to change the criteria for schools to receive funding to support the most disadvantaged pupils.
Disadvantage funding is now allocated based on how many pupils in a school receive free school meals; This is usually given to children from families whose annual income is less than £7,400.
Labor wants to expand these criteria by overhauling the funding formula to give greater weight to student funding based on family income.
The policy is likely to divert funding for disadvantage payments away from annual pupil premium payments to schools for each child eligible for free school meals.
The white paper will also include controversial proposals to allow local authorities to run groups of schools through their own multi-academy trusts and set new minimum expectations for schools to engage with parents.
Labor said that “the gap in disadvantage is as stark today as it was more than a decade ago”; Only 44% of children on free school meals achieved grade 4 or above in GCSE maths and English. This compares with 70 per cent of children who do not qualify for free school meals, the party added.
Education Minister Bridget Phillipson said: “These reforms are a golden opportunity we must seize to break the link between history and success.
“Our schools have made great strides in recent years. But for too long, too many children in our country have been let down by a one-size-fits-all system, denied opportunities because they are poor or have additional needs.
“Our school white paper lays out a blueprint for opportunity for the next generation with an education system that truly serves every child, whatever their needs and wherever they grow up in the country.”
Currently, disadvantaged funding for schools costs around £8bn a year. While government sources say this will be determined at the next spending review, there is no guarantee the pot will be increased to reflect the proposed changes.
Some MPs and campaigners have questioned how effective these proposed reforms would be without the guarantee of more funding.
Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrats’ education spokeswoman, said: “Basing funding solely on income risks introducing regional inequalities into the system.
“Ministers should return the pupil premium to its 2015 real term value rather than reshuffling a fixed deposit at the risk of new cliff edges leaving struggling families even worse off.
“Starmer must also guarantee that any investment will grow with inflation, so no child will be left without the support they need.”
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We fully agree with more targeted funding for schools supporting the most disadvantaged children and have been advocating such a measure for several years.
“But it is vital that this is done through additional investment in the education system, rather than distributing the same money differently, with the risk of creating winners and losers.”
The white paper will also outline plans for two new programs – Mission North East and Mission Coastal – to tackle the performance of poor students in certain parts of the country. The Guardian understands that the exact locations of these attempts have not yet been determined.
These will build on the London Challenge, a New Labor project that aims to raise achievement in secondary schools in the capital and focuses on schools working together to share learning and ideas. It was praised by Ofsted for helping to improve education standards.
The government is also planning a radical overhaul of the special educational needs (Resipation) system as part of its plans. Send plans to offer each child an individual support plan.
But some Labor MPs are thought to be uneasy about some of the plans, particularly whether parents will retain the right to object if they are unhappy with the level of support their children are receiving.
The whitepaper was originally scheduled to be published last fall but was postponed to allow further evaluation of submitted proposals.
Ministers are also expected to announce new attendance targets to make up for the 20 million school days lost a year.
Newly appointed school principals will be offered pay increases to encourage them to work in parts of the country where the need is greatest. This can be worth up to £15,000 to individual teachers.
