How positive is the spending review for schools?

So the spending review happened, and the key question is: how good is this for schools, actually? Let's break this down... There is supposedly a £2 billion uplift in real terms. But how true is this? Sir Jon Coles argues that in truth, compared with the current year, schools face only £730 million real-terms uplift—with £410 million earmarked for free school meals and an extra £615 million absorbed by prior higher pay awards. This decimates the 'uplift' by half. Rising staff costs and inflation is going to erode a lot of this budget and may therefore have limited impact on schools. Let's not forget, the previous issues of crumbling schools. Whilst fixing this issue is essential, not much remains to improve education in other areas i.e. staffing and resourcing.

When comparing the budget for education against other sectors such as the NHS, which is set for a +3% real annual rise, education lags behind many sectors—health, defence, transport, even devolved governments. Not only this but SEND needs key funding. The £760 million SEND Transformation Fund is likely carved from the core school budget, further tightening resources. With rising high-needs costs, a 2.4% cash increase equates to a per-pupil cut, so again this is not all rosy.

There is another pay award pending. So where is this money coming from? Some of it may be taken from the additional funding for sure, but is this all of it? The answer, probably not. This is a real shame. The Labour government, once the party of 'education, education, education' feels like they are prioritising other services and sadly we're taking a back seat. Funding schools properly and investing in children should surely be front and centre, but yet again, we're left wanting.

What are your thoughts on the spending review? Let us know in the comments. Read the full article here: https://schoolsweek.co.uk/the-spending-review-spells-crisis-unless-ministers-act-fast/

Image courtesy of schoolsweek.co.uk