A think-tank briefing paper examined the coalition government's plans to reform school funding in England. It said that the plans would involve significant disruption for schools, creating large numbers of financial winners and losers. Even under a reform that sought to minimize the amount of disruption, roughly 1 in 6 schools would see cuts in funding of 10 per cent or more compared with existing policy, while 1 in 10 schools would see their funding increase by 10 per cent or more. In many cases these variations appeared to be random.
Source: Haroon Chowdry and Luke Sibieta, School Funding Reform: An empirical analysis of options for a national funding formula, Briefing Note 123, Institute for Fiscal Studies
Links: Briefing Note | IFS press release | Guardian report | Public Finance report | Telegraph report
Date: 2011-Nov
A briefing paper examined the development of the school funding system for current expenditure in England – including the ring-fenced dedicated schools grant and other grants given to schools, and details of the 2011-12 settlement.
Source: Tim Jarrett and Paul Bolton, School Funding, Standard Note SN/SP/4581, House of Commons Library
Links: Briefing paper
Date: 2011-Nov
A report provided an overview of available evidence on funding mechanisms in education and training in Europe. It considered the advantages and drawbacks of a wide range of funding mechanisms, including tax incentives, grants and subsidies, loans, and individual learning accounts.
Source: Torberg Falch and Hessel Oosterbeek, Financing Lifelong Learning: Funding mechanisms in education and training, European Expert Network on Economics of Education/European Commission
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Oct
An article examined a resource allocation model for local education services in Wales that was based on outcomes.
Source: Glen Bramley, David Watkins, and Noah Kofi Karley, ' An outcome-based resource allocation model for local education services in Wales', Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, Volume 29 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Oct
A think-tank briefing said that total public spending on education would fall by over 13 per cent in real terms between 2010-11 and 2014-15. This represented the largest cut in education spending over any 4-year period since at least the 1950s. The cuts would be deepest for capital spending and higher education, followed by 16-19 education and early years provision. Schools spending was relatively protected, and schools with the most deprived intake were likely to see real-terms increases in funding: but the majority of schools would see real-terms cuts.
Source: Haroon Chowdry and Luke Sibieta, Trends in Education and Schools Spending, Briefing Note 121, Institute for Fiscal Studies
Links: Briefing Note | IFS press release | DE press release | NAHT press release | NUT press release | UCU press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Oct
A paper examined the effect of increasing school expenditure for schools in urban areas. Funding disparities gave rise to sizeable differences in pupil attainment in national tests at the end of primary school – suggesting that school resources had an important role to play in improving educational attainment.
Source: Stephen Gibbons, Sandra McNally, and Martina Viarengo, Does Additional Spending Help Urban Schools? An evaluation using boundary discontinuities, Discussion Paper 90, Spatial Economics Research Centre (London School of Economics)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Aug
The coalition government began consultation on implementation of the recommendations made in a review of education capital spending. The recommendations were designed to 'target' funding on areas of greatest need.
Source: Implementation of the 2010-11 Review of Education Capital (The James Review): Consultation Document, Department for Education
Links: Consultation document | DE press release | ASCL press release | NASUWT press release | RIBA press release | SSAT press release | Guardian report | Public Finance report
Notes: James review (April 2011)
Date: 2011-Jul
The coalition government began consultation on proposals to reform the funding system for schools in England, designed to make it 'simpler and more transparent'. It proposed to introduce a new national formula so that money was allocated more consistently between different areas of the country, and to expand the eligibility criteria of the pupil premium. The consultation also included proposals for funding high-need pupils and early education.
Source: Consultation on School Funding Reform: Proposals for a Fairer System, Department for Education
Links: Consultation document | Annexes | DE press release | NAHT press release | NASUWT press release | SSAT press release | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Jul
An article examined the disclosure and reporting of expenditure under the 'Building Schools for the Future' programme. There was 'little detailed and useful financial reporting', and the public's right to know under freedom of information legislation was very limited. This made it difficult to understand where public money was going, how it was being used, and the extent of future commitments and liabilities.
Source: Jean Shaoul, Anne Stafford, and Pamela Stapleton, 'Accountability for public expenditure under Building Schools for the Future', Journal of Education Policy, Volume 25 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jul
An article examined the 'Building Schools for the Future' programme, launched by the Labour government in 2003 with the aim of refurbishing or rebuilding all secondary schools in England. Although still in the early stages of its implementation, the programme was of such significance for the future shape and form of educational provision that it was important to begin the process of considering possible directions and dimensions for an associated research agenda.
Source: Pat Mahony, Ian Hextall, and Malcolm Richardson, 'Building Schools for the Future: reflections on a new social architecture', Journal of Education Policy, Volume 26 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-May
The report of a review commissioned by the coalition government said that the 'Building Schools for the Future' programme (under the previous Labour government) had shown poor value for money, and had not helped the neediest schools quickly enough. It said that new schools in England should be built to a standard blueprint.
Source: Sebastian James, Review of Education Capital, Department for Education
Links: Report | DE press release | ASCL press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Apr
The government began consultation on the aims and objectives of the school funding system in England, and the high-level principles for any potential reforms. It said that the existing system was unfair, leading to unjustifiable variations in funding between different schools.
Source: A Consultation on School Funding Reform: Rationale and Principles, Department for Education
Links: Consultation document | DE press release | ASCL press release
Date: 2011-Apr
The High Court ruled that the government had unlawfully failed to consult local authorities over its decision to scrap a programme for rebuilding/refurbishing school buildings in England (the 'Building Schools for the Future programme').
Source: Luton Borough Council & Nottingham City Council & Others, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for Education, High Court 11 February 2011
Links: Judgement | Hansard | DE press release | Labour Party press release | ATL press release | NASUWT press release | NUT press release | BBC report | Children & Young People Now report | Guardian report | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Feb
A report by a committee of MPs said that there were 'already signs of financial and governance instability' in the early stages of the expansion of academies – state schools that were publicly funded but independent of local authority control.
Source: The Academies Programme, Seventeenth Report (Session 2010-11), HC 552, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | NUT press release | UNISON press release | YPLA press release | Telegraph report | BBC report | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Jan
