PM announces £14bn for schools over three years
Catherine Gaunt
Friday, August 30, 2019
The Prime Minister has announced £14 billion in funding for primary and secondary schools in England between now and 2022/23.
The figure is in line with the education briefing paper leaked earlier this week.
Boris Johnson has announced a funding package for schools that includes £2.6 billion for 2020/21, £4.8 billion for 21/22, and £7.1 billion for 22/23 compared to 19/20. This will bring the schools budget to £52.2bn in 2022/23.
Every secondary school will receive a minimum of £5,000 per pupil next year, with every primary school receiving a minimum of £4,000 from 2021/22.
The deal includes £700 million extra for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in 2020/21.
Further details on new funding for sixth forms and further education will be set out tomorrow, followed by reforms to teacher pay, measures to ensure standards in schools and colleges continue to rise, and action to tackle poor behaviour and bullying.
Mr Johnson said, ‘When I became Prime Minster at the start of the summer, I promised to make sure every child receives a superb education - regardless of which school they attend, or where they grew up.
‘Today I can announce the first step in delivering on that pledge – funding per pupil in primary and secondary schools will increase, and be levelled up across the entire country.
‘We should not accept the idea that there can be “winners or losers” when it comes to our children’s futures. That’s why we are providing additional funding now and for the future for every school, with those historically underfunded receiving the greatest increase.’
The extra funding?comes ?ahead of Wednesday's Spending Round, and the Department for Education said that it would give schools the certainty they need to plan their budgets.
Education secretary Gavin Williamson said, 'We owe it to the next generation to ensure our education system is world class, and that nothing stands in the way of our young people having the best choices in life, whatever course they take.
‘This £14 bn funding increase – the largest cash boost in a generation - means our schools can continue?to?raise standards and build an education system that boosts productivity, improves social mobility and equips children with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the bright future that lies ahead.’
Response
Teaching unions welcomed the funding but said it would not be enough to reverse all of the cuts that had already taken place.
The National Education Union said that it would be analysing the funding announcement over the weekend that would show the remaining gap in school and college funding even after this package has been implemented.
The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) also said it would analyse the figures.
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the NEU, said, ‘This schools funding announcement should really come with a note of apology; the Government has for so long derided our campaign and said there was no problem with education funding.
‘Nevertheless the funding announced today is very positive.
‘It is a tribute to the campaign waged by the NEU, NAHT and ASCL, alongside parents, councillors and many others. Our campaign in the General Election of 2017 moved 800,000 votes on the question of school funding and that message has clearly sunk in.’
‘The money now promised will in many cases be enough to mean schools don’t need to make further cuts next year.
‘It is also welcome that a three-year funding plan has been laid out – long-term funding has been a theme of our campaigning.
‘However, even the sums announced today are not enough to reverse all of the cuts already made that have so damaged children’s education – and we will continue to campaign alongside heads, parents and governors for the funding our children need.’
Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary said, ‘After five years of disappointment on funding, I’m sure the Prime Minster would forgive us only giving this a cautious welcome, whilst we await the full details to come from the Chancellor’s statement on Wednesday. It would be disastrous if the detail didn’t live up to the £14.4bn headline. We hope that this announcement is as good as it looks.
‘On the face of it, this investment appears to repair some of damage that has been done to the education system since the cuts began in 2010. ‘We’ve won the argument that it was only going to be new money from the Treasury that would solve the school funding crisis. More money is welcome. There’s no extra money for schools this year, so that’s still a big problem for schools whose budgets are already at breaking point.
‘There are many ways to calculate how much more schools and colleges need to receive; the two fundamentals though are immediate short-term relief, to make up for what schools and colleges have lost, and a long-term commitment to sufficient funding in the future.’
Angela Rayner MP, Labour’s shadow education secretary, said, 'This comes nowhere close to meeting the Prime Minister’s pledge to reverse the Tories’ education cuts, let alone matching Labour’s plans to invest in a National Education Service. Instead, it is yet another con trick by a politician who shown time and again that you just can’t trust his promises.
'With the Chancellor only committing to a one-year Spending Round schools are being told to wait years for desperately needed funding, and the truth is that the Government’s figures would prove an absolute fantasy after the damage done by a disastrous no-deal Brexit.
'Today’s announcement completely ignores the impact of cuts on vital services like nursery schools and Sure Start centres or adult learning and training, and school buildings will continue to crumble as cuts to capital funding continue.'
