Commenting on the Public Accounts Committee report into school
funding, which says deprived local areas and schools have been
hit hardest by Department for Education funding policies, Geoff
Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and
College Leaders, said:
“This report lays bare the reality behind the government’s
‘levelling-up’ rhetoric. The introduction of a national funding
formula is the right approach, but the way in which the formula
is being implemented means that those schools with the most need
of more money – those serving our most deprived communities –
have lost out. And we know, of course, that the children and
young people in these schools have also suffered
disproportionately from the impact of the pandemic.
“The continuing delays to the government’s much-vaunted SEND
Review are unacceptable. We have now been waiting for two years
for its publication and almost 18 months have gone by since the
Public Accounts Committee’s damning findings that SEND pupils
were being failed by the system. The government’s apparent lack
of concern and priority for our most vulnerable young people is,
frankly, nothing short of scandalous.
“A government which is serious about improving the life chances
of disadvantaged children and young people would be well advised
to take note of the recommendations in this report. A good start
would be a meaningful commitment of funding for education
recovery at next week’s Spending Review.”
