ASCL comment on National Offer Day

Julie McCulloch, Director of Policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “National Offer Day is always an important date for the parents of young children. Hopefully the majority of parents will be successful in getting the place they want and can look forward to settling their children into the school of their choice come September.

“However, this annual process highlights the way in which our education system pits one school against another, often using narrow measures which reflect the neighbourhood in which a school is situated rather than any inherent difference in quality. The means that some schools become highly sought after, while others suffer from falling numbers of pupils. This leads to a vicious circle in which struggling schools receive less funding and struggle to attract teaching staff of the high calibre they need.

“As part of its thinking about education recovery after the pandemic, the government needs urgently to address this issue. We need an accountability system which focuses on supporting schools in more challenging circumstances, and sufficient funding to ensure that every child has access to a good school, right on their own doorstep.”