Commenting on the Chancellor’s spending round announcement, Geoff
Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and
College Leaders, said:
“The investment promised by the government is significant and it
will be welcomed by schools and colleges after the damage done by
years of austerity. But it should be noted that even with this
additional funding there will still be a shortfall.
“Analysis by the Education Policy Institute shows some schools
are unlikely to see a full reversal of cuts, additional funding
for pupils with high needs is short of what is required, and the
spending plans only repair a quarter of the cuts experienced in
16-19 education since 2011 1. In addition, the
extra funding will provide no immediate relief to schools and
colleges because it will not be introduced until 2020/21. And the
spending plans for 16-19 education cover only one year and will
therefore mean continued uncertainty for colleges and sixth
forms.
“The extra funding is a major step forward and a vindication of
the campaign which has got us to this point, but the job is not
done on education funding. We will continue to talk
constructively with the government about the settlement with the
aim of ensuring that every school and college is
properly resourced.”
1 The government’s one-year
spending round: looking beyond the big numbers. Education
Policy Institute. 3 September 2019.
