School funding – The Government’s Education Recovery Plan falls some way short of what’s actually needed
Now we know what additional funding we have, is it enough? absolutely not, says Vic Goddard…
- by Vic Goddard
For most school staff, the last few weeks of exam classes usually signify the start of preparations for the coming academic year.
Things still feel much the same this year, despite the lack of external exams, so it’s been an opportune time for the government to release its Education Recovery Plan (ERP).
It would be fair to say, however, that for many of us, the ‘plan’ falls far short of what’s needed. Its main focus seems to be on extending additional tutoring to include direct funding of schools, so that they can create local solutions. That’s something that was missing from the initial rollout, and on paper at least, should be welcomed.
Unfortunately, the fact that schools will only be partially funded, and are expected to meet 25% of the cost, means that for some secondary pupils, this tutoring simply won’t happen.
The government has also stated that schools will be expected to cover a bigger percentage of costs in future.
It’s important to remember that many individual schools have recently had to undergo restructuring and lost staff, due to real term funding cuts. Funding that 25% (or more) will be impossible for some.
Government school funding – Easy sell
The tutoring programme turned out to be the main focus of media reporting around the ERP – possibly because it represented the biggest funding allocation, and was the easiest angle to sell to understandably concerned parents and carers.
However, in a series of fleeting TV appearances, the Education Secretary also mentioned the potential for longer school days.
While no decision has been made yet, it doesn’t take much thought to appreciate the challenges this would present.
A number of teachers may welcome the change – particularly those already providing additional learning outside of lesson time, and who would doubtless appreciate being remunerated for the extra hours they’re currently working unpaid.
And yet, even if this government has learned nothing else about schools in the last two years, they’ll have surely picked up on how any change in what schools offer instantly has a massive effect on everyone.
That includes teachers with their own children, even more cars on the road during rush hour, young carers at home, the mental health repercussions of losing other valuable extracurricular opportunities, such as the arts and sport…
If I’m honest, it almost feels like the government is hoping that we react, as individuals and through our associations, in a way that will once again let them blame ‘lazy teachers’!
Catch-up funding for schools
What’s ironic here is that those aspects of the plan less emphasised within the government’s media campaign actually have the potential to be very good, and have a positive impact in the long-term.
The Early Career Framework, for example, has the potential to improve the support and training received by new teachers, and if implemented well, could keep well-informed and rounded education staff in the job for longer.
The £153 million of additional funding focused on early years staff training (specifically speech and language teaching), could help our young people become even more successful once they reach secondary school.
The issue with these aspects is, of course, that any positive effects will take some time to emerge – certainly not before the next election!
School funding allocations
I feel I’ve done well so far to not mention the resignation of Sir Kevan Collins from his role of ‘Catch up Tsar’, due to the level of funding allocated to the ERP – about a tenth of what he considered to be the minimum required.
Of course, there are some incredibly difficult decisions to be made by the government, and I genuinely sympathise with their position – but to not invest fully in the young people hit so badly by the pandemic is, without doubt, one of the biggest false economies I can conceive of.
There are times when it’s felt we’re in direct conflict with the government’s approach to education, with teachers painted as workshy and lazy by certain sections of the media. But not funding catch-up education fully doesn’t punish teachers – all it achieves is to ensure that children are left abandoned.
I’d therefore like to offer my personal thanks to Sir Kevan for acting with integrity, and for standing up for all of our young people…
Vic Goddard is headteacher at Passmores Academy – as seen on Channel 4’s Educating Essex – and author of The Best Job in the World (Independent Thinking Press, £14.99).
