MAKE EDUCATION FUNDING SYSTEM FAIRER
March 4, 2010 12:00 AM
In North Devon Journal
In North Devon Journal
Whitehall's education funding system has for decades been unbalanced, and as a result many children are left behind.
In Devon, £375 less is spent on each child's education than the average across England. On top of this, children from less well-off families are disadvantaged throughout their education. By the age of 16 they are only half as likely to get 5 good GSCEs as everyone else.
Much is said of the gap between rich and poor - but for children it is in terms of attainment, with the poorest traditionally achieving the worst results.
A report published on Tuesday by the Institute for Fiscal Studies identified that the most effective policy would be to target extra funds in addition to existing money. The best mechanism would be to allocate extra funds to "follow" children from poorer backgrounds to whichever school they attend.
Educational research shows that by the age of eight most of the damage has been done and the cards have already been dealt when it comes to life chances. So to tackle the problem it is vital to give all our children the fairest start at school.
My party colleagues and I suggest doing this by attaching a "pupil premium" to the million or so most disadvantaged children (very roughly those entitled to free school meals - although it is a bit more sophisticated than that).
Set nationally, the Premium would top up a national per-pupil base funding figure, as well as raising the poorest children's school funding up to private school levels. This means the average school would receive around £2500 extra for every child entitled to free school meals on their roll.
In North Devon we have faced our fair share of problems throughout the economic crisis - like unemployment and rising costs. But our schools have also faced severe financial constraints and through these times it is vital we secure a fairer deal for them in terms of funding per child.
At the moment the system is grossly unjust and leaves Devon as the fourth lowest funded education authority area in England. This is despite problems of rural deprivation which have not been reflected in current or previous governments' funding formulae.
Huge changes need to be made to how the Government spends on education so that all children, no matter where they live or what background they come from get a fair chance at school. An equal base figure and a premium for need would achieve this.
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