School trusts call for reform of school funding to improve fairness and transparency

Funding needs to “support an ambitious future, not reflect the past”.

School funding in England needs to be shaken up to improve fairness and transparency, according to the people running the majority of the country’s schools.

New research from the Confederation of School Trusts, the national sector body and membership organisation for school trusts, has found that the current complex system of school funding falls short of what is needed to support pupils.

Funding is too unpredictable, is not calculated against the actual costs facing schools, and has failed to keep up with moves to a trust-led system.

Following extensive consultation with academy trust leaders - who now run more than half of the country’s schools – CST is calling for significant reforms, with existing funding calculations swept away and replaced with:

A fully implemented National Funding Formula, for all schools including special and alternative provision settings, which integrates long-standing additional funding such as the Pupil Premium, so that schools are adequately resourced to deliver the education provision that society expects and that children deserve.
A new approach to funding Special Education Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision, with a protected minimum level of funding provided through the NFF and additional funding provided for ambitious, tailored provision, rather than a statement of need.
Holistic capital funding that is sufficient and replaces the current status quo of too many competing and piecemeal pockets that are inaccessible. An ambitious national plan for the maintenance and improvement of the school estate should be introduced and funded separately to the core delivery of education so that schools are safe and sustainable places to learn.
The introduction of a Policy Premium Mechanism, to provide a standing route for time-limited additional funding beyond the three main funding stream, with any long term changes embedded in the NFF.

The proposals are set out in CST’s Funding futures: Reforming school funding in England report, which is being published alongside research by international economic consulting firm Compass Lexecon that makes the case for increased investment in education.

Their analysis has found that spending on education has significant benefits to society, way beyond the initial spending. A 10% increase in spending on primary and secondary education in the United Kingdom would generate £1,100 billion in net present value over the period 2024-2080. The average yearly benefit would be £95 bn against an average yearly cost of £17 bn.

Increased education spending is also associated with physical and mental health, reduced crime rates, and enhanced civic engagement.

In contrast, while the Government has aimed to bring per-pupil funding back up to 2010 levels in real terms following a period of decline, the use of general inflation – rather than much higher increases in schools’ specific costs – means there is a risk of a real fall in funding.

The report found that reduced investments in education have been shown to detrimentally impact the outcomes of pupils in a way that is difficult to reverse. These adverse effects are particularly pronounced among disadvantaged groups.

CST Chief Executive Leora Cruddas CBE said: "We need to look at school funding as in investment in the society we want to live in, and we need to distribute it in a way that reflects actuals costs and ways of operating in schools and trusts today.

"If the English state school system is going to be the best system in the world at getting better, it needs funding that enables it to flourish, and that is what our proposals are aimed at delivering.”