An independent evaluation report said that most headteachers believed the government's secondary school building programme would improve teaching, learning, and behaviour, and transform existing premises. But the extra pressures generated by the scheme were hampering the day-to-day running of some of the schools involved.
Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Evaluation of Building Schools for the Future: 1st Annual Report, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report | DCSF press release | BBC report
Date: 2007-Dec
The government announced the first ever three-year school funding settlement for every local authority in England, for the period 2008-2011. The revenue funding settlement targeted key priority areas, including closing the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 12 November 2007, columns 27-31WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | DCSF press release | NASUWT press release | Liberal Democrats press release
Date: 2007-Nov
The government published its 2007 Pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review. Education spending in England would rise on average by 2.8 per cent per year in real terms between 2007-08 and 2010-11. Education and skills spending as a percentage of national income would rise to 5.6 per cent by 2010-11, compared with 4.5 per cent 10 years previously. Additional funding covered plans for a new primary school in every 'local area' by 2010, and £250 million to fund personalized learning support for all schoolchildren.
Source: Meeting the Aspirations of the British People: 2007 Pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review, Cm 7227, HM Treasury, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Summary | Hansard (1) | Hansard (2) | HMT press releases | DCSF press release | ATL press release | Liberal Democrat press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2007-Oct
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on its school refurbishment programme. It said that it remained committed to its long-term aim of modernizing all secondary schools and at least half of all primary schools. There was a clear link from good facilities to better chances of a good education; and from there to better life chances and better national economic performance.
Source: Sustainable Schools: Are we building schools for the future?: Government Response to the Committee's Seventh Report, Sixth Special Report (Session 2006-07), HC 1078, House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2007-Oct
The government announced (following consultation) that it was dropping a proposal for a 5 per cent levy on excess cash balances held by schools in England.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 30 October 2007, columns 29-30WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | LGA press release | NASUWT press release | ATL press release | Conservative Party press release | Liberal Democrats press release | BBC report
Date: 2007-Oct
A report by a committee of MPs said that a £45 billion scheme to rebuild or refurbish every secondary school in England using the private finance initiative might not be a good use of public money.
Source: Sustainable Schools: Are we building schools for the future?, Seventh Report (Session 2006-07), HC 140, House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | ATL press release | CBI press release | TSN press release | BBC report | FT report | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Aug
An article applied a simultaneous equation model to estimate the effect of school resources on pupils? achievement at age 14, using the newly available national pupil database and pupil-level annual school census.
Source: Fiona Steele, Anna Vignoles and Andrew Jenkins, 'The effect of school resources on pupil attainment: a multilevel simultaneous equation modelling approach', Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A, Volume 170 Issue 3
Links: Article
Date: 2007-Jul
The government announced funding of £1 billion (over three years) for the extended schools programme. Families would be able to access services such as breakfast clubs, childcare, family learning and parental support, and specialist child services such as speech therapy. Every school would offer access to extended services by 2010.
Source: Press release 25 July 2007, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0870 000 2288)
Links: DCSF press release | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Jul
The government announced (following consultation) a series of changes to the funding arrangements for schools, early years settings, and 14-16 funding, for the years 2008-09 to 2010-11.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 25 June 2007, columns 1-5WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | NASUWT press release | PSLA press release | Children Now report
Date: 2007-Jun
The report was published of an audit of new and improved buildings in all 150 English local education authorities, illustrating the impact of the government's capital investment programme in education since 1997.
Source: Better Buildings, Better Design, Better Education: A report on capital investment in education, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report | DfES press release
Date: 2007-May
Two linked reports said that deprived and mobile pupils were among those least likely to benefit from increased government spending on schooling. Government funding guidelines did not relate directly to the individual needs of pupils, and it was very difficult to determine how effectively those in most need were being helped.
Source: Smarter Funding for Schools with Deprived Pupils, London Councils (020 7934 9999) | Smarter Funding for Schools with Mobile Pupils, London Councils
Links: Report (1) | Report (2) | London Councils press release
Date: 2007-Apr
The 2007 Budget report said that public spending on education would rise by 2.4 per cent (in real terms) in each year between 2007-08 and 2010-11 - compared to 2 per cent for public spending overall.
Source: Budget 2007: Building Britain's long-term future - Prosperity and fairness for families, Cm 342, HM Treasury, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Budget Report | Summary | Hansard | HMT press release | NUT press release | NASUWT press release | TUC press release | UUK press release | UCU press release | IFS press release | IPPR press release | BBC report | Guardian report | FT report
Date: 2007-Mar
The government began consultation on the school, early years, and 14-16 funding arrangements for the period 2008-2011. There were proposed changes in respect of funding for deprivation to local authorities and schools; and in funding arrangements to support the extension, to 15 hours, of the free entitlement to early-years education. It also included plans for a levy on surplus cash balances held by schools.
Source: School, Early Years and 14-16 Funding Consultation, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Consultation document | DfES press release | PSLA press release | Daycare Trust press release | Guardian report | BBC report | Children Now report
Date: 2007-Mar
A study found that targeted government investment had improved the educational outcomes for secondary school pupils in disadvantaged areas, under the Excellence in Cities programme. The most disadvantaged schools benefited most, and the effect was mainly concentrated among pupils of medium-to-high prior achievement. Initial estimates suggested that the programme could prove to be cost-effective, particularly if targeted where it was most effective.
Source: Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Costas Meghir, Resources and Standards in Urban Schools, DP76, Centre for the Economics of Education/London School of Economics (020 7955 7285)
Links: Paper | Abstract | IFS press release
Date: 2007-Feb
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on education spending. It said that measuring aggregate productivity and the effectiveness of increased investment in any education system was difficult, as the nature of the relationship between spending and education outcomes was complex. Since 1997 it had met a number of significant spending commitments which might not yet have fed through to effects on headline performance measures such as attainment.
Source: Public Expenditure: Government Response to the Committee?s Fifth Report of Session 2005?06, First Special Report (Session 2006-07), HC 211, House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2007-Jan
