National Foundation for Educational Research statement on Comprehensive Spending Review

Commenting on today’s Comprehensive Spending Review, Carole Willis, Chief Executive at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) said:

“Sadly there is no silver bullet to rid us of the wide-ranging societal traumas of Covid, but a fully funded recovery plan over a sustained period of time which addressed the gaps in children’s learning caused by school closures would have been a great start. Whilst additional funding for early years, schools and skills will help, this is a missed opportunity.

“Fixing the education ship now would mean avoiding life rafts further down the line. We await details on how the extra £1.8bn new funding for schools will be allocated, but suffice to say it is not nearly enough.

“The recruitment and retention of high-quality teachers is essential for a well-functioning and improving education system, so now is the right time to increase teachers’ pay to ensure it remains competitive with other professions. While we welcome the Government’s commitment to ending the teacher pay freeze, we will need to look at the precise detail of the Government’s proposals when they emerge.”