NUT comment on pupil premium

27 July 2010

Commenting on the opening of consultation on the coalition government's proposed 'pupil premium', Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers' union, said;

"The Coalition agreement pledged to bankroll the pupil premium by diverting money from outside the education budget. The Liberal Democrats estimated before the election that £2.5 billion was needed to make the proposal work. The coalition policy document states a "significant" pupil premium for disadvantaged pupils would be funded from outside the schools budget by reductions in spending elsewhere. The government must now make it clear how much funding will be provided for the premium and that it will not just be taken from other schools. Taking funding from other areas of school spending will just make thousands of other schools worse off.

"The Institute for Fiscal Studies report on the pupil premium (1) has made it clear that funding is not the only important issue in supporting the poorest pupils' achievement. They state that previous research shows a pupil premium would at best lead to a modest reduction in the attainment gap between rich and poor. Restoring the proposal to introduce universal free school meals could have a significantly more positive effect.

"The Conservatives had previously proposed a move to a national funding formula for schools. It appears this is still very much in their minds. At the moment, schools and local authorities agree the funding formula in each local authority. The Conservative proposals would rob schools of any influence over the funding formula. The pupil premium would be a small addition to the normal funding allocation and would essentially do away with the role of the local authorities in determining school funding. This is another example of the government abolishing local authority control.

"The government proposals mention a further review of the way in which Academies will be funded from 2011 onwards. It is imperative that 'outstanding' schools keen to convert in September ask themselves searching questions about the dubious virtues of going it alone. There is still great uncertainty over funding and, for that reason amongst many, the NUT can see no real advantage in their being liberated from local authority 'control'."

(1) The Pupil Premium, Assessing the Options (2010) can be found here: http://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/4776

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