Responding to the Education Select Committee report 'A ten-year plan for school and college funding', published on 19 July 2019, Angela Donkin, NFER’s Chief Social Scientist said:
“The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) welcomes the recommendation of the Education Select Committee for a move to deliver appropriate levels of funds through a 10 year cycle so that school and college leaders can plan ahead for their school and deliver a world-class education for our children.
Education is a fundamental building block of a healthy, prosperous country. It is therefore critical that the whole sector is adequately supported and we are encouraged by the report’s focus on addressing shortfalls in the 16-19 sector, which has been critically underfunded in recent years.
We also welcome the acknowledgement of the importance of appropriate and sustained funding for the disadvantaged and the continued support for Pupil Premium, with an extension of support to 16 to 19 year olds. We know that additional funding makes a real difference to the outcomes of children living in disadvantaged circumstances. NFER has looked into the impact of pupil premium funding and explored how schools have used this money in innovative ways to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils – however, we have also been aware of the reality that much of this fund goes unclaimed by those who really need it. It is therefore good to see the report calling for changes to the system to ensure that schools receive all eligible students’ pupil premium allocation.
The timing of this report will enable the recommendations to inform the forthcoming spending review and we would add our voice to that of the Education Committee in encouraging the Treasury to support this longer-term view for education funding.”
Angela Donkin gave oral evidence to the Education Select Committee as part of this enquiry on 19 June 2018.
She also recently wrote about the need a long-term funding plan for schools in TES. Read her thoughts here.