The Chancellor is expected to announce an extra £1.3bn on improving Britain’s roads in his first autumn statement tomorrow, while the Prime Minister has already this week revealed plans for a £2bn annual fund for scientific research and development.
The clear message is that the government is investing in infrastructure and innovation to boost long-term economic growth. Few people would disagree with the notion that investment is vital to the future of the country - but what about education?
Schools and colleges are every bit as important as roads and research to the country’s future. In an increasingly globalised economy, we need a highly-skilled workforce which is able to compete on a world stage in an array of industries and sectors. In fact, it is arguably the single most important investment that we can make right now.
Instead, funding is so tight that some schools are struggling to deliver a full curriculum, while at post-16 level, courses are having to be cut and some sixth forms are closing entirely.
It is to the credit of schools and colleges - their leaders, teachers and pupils - that they are doing such a good job in such difficult circumstances. A record number of schools are judged as outstanding or good by Ofsted. It is not, however, realistic for the government to expect standards to continue to improve without sufficient funding to pay for staff, buildings and classroom resources. Virtually every school in the country is having to make cuts in all three of these vital areas, and in the worst-funded areas of England the situation is absolutely critical.
The government will say that it is investing in education and that it has protected school spending. It is certainly true that compared to some other areas of public spending which have suffered severe cuts, education has fared relatively well. However, the fact remains that, in this parliament, schools are facing real-terms cuts of at least eight per cent because of “flat cash” and rising costs. In the post-16 sector, sixth forms and colleges face the same scenario on top of significant cuts in the last parliament.
The reality is shrinking budgets and tough choices which inevitably and unavoidably have an impact on pupils.
To secure the long-term economic future of the country, we believe that the government must make a greater investment in education. There are two actions which the Chancellor could take immediately in his autumn statement tomorrow which would help to ease the most badly affected parts of the education system.
- An increase in the £4,000-per-student base funding rate for 16-19 year olds. This sector is the worst funded in the whole system and yet it covers such an important time in the lives of young people. It determines their university, apprenticeship and career options, and hence plays a major role in their life chances. It must be better funded.
- Additional funding for 2017-18 for schools that are the most financially disadvantaged because of the historical inequities of funding distribution across the country. This measure would help to provide them with some additional support next year in the light of the delay in the introduction of the new funding formula to 2018-19.
There are plenty of other very serious issues which must be addressed. It is imperative that there is additional funding to support the move to the new funding formula in 2018. We also need a properly resourced strategy to tackle the national crisis in teacher recruitment and retention. Integral to that is the pressing need to resolve the issue of teachers’ pay falling behind that of other graduate professions, and for pay increases to be fully funded by the government, instead of leaving it to schools to pick up yet another extra cost.
Targeted investment in areas such as these will produce tangible benefits for young people and for the long-term economic future of the country. Education provides the country’s intellectual infrastructure; the knowledge and skills which will enable the nation remains competitive and thrives in a global market.
Malcolm Trobe is interim general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders
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