Autumn Statement 2015 – 30 hours free childcare, £600 million cut from education services grant
A doubling of free childcare for 3- and 4-year-olds from 15 to 30 hours per week, and the introduction of a new national funding formula for schools, high needs and early years. Those were arguably the two biggest announcements contained in Chancellor George Osborne’s 2015 Spending Review and Autumn Statement. There was also the promise […]
A doubling of free childcare for 3- and 4-year-olds from 15 to 30 hours per week, and the introduction of a new national funding formula for schools, high needs and early years. Those were arguably the two biggest announcements contained in Chancellor George Osborne’s 2015 Spending Review and Autumn Statement.
There was also the promise of £23 billion capital investment over the course of the current Parliament, which will be put towards providing a further 600,000 school places, opening 500 free schools, refurbishing more than 500 existing schools and addressing essential maintenance needs.
In the debit column, however, came news that funding for the education services grant will be reduced by some £600 million. Accompanying this will be a further sidelining of LAs in the running of schools, including the removal of an unspecified number of statutory duties.
Protecting per pupil funding
The government plans to invest £1 billion more in childcare places for 2 to 4-year-olds each year until 2020, invest a minimum of £50 million capital funding in creating additional nursery places and £300 each year to raise the average hourly rate earned by childcare providers. From 2017, working parents will also be entitled to receive Tax-Free Childcare, which the government claims will provide support with childcare costs of up to £2000 per year.
To qualify for the extended childcare entitlement and tax-free childcare, parents will need to be earning a weekly income equivalent to at least 16 hours per week paid at the National Living Wage, and fall within an upper income limit per parent of £100,000.
The new national funding formula for schools will be implemented in 2017, subject to the findings of a detailed consultation that the government plans to launch next year. Commenting on the announcements, Education secretary Nicky Morgan said, “Providing educational excellence everywhere is at the heart of this government’s drive to extend opportunity and deliver real social justice, which is why we are protecting per pupil funding in the dedicated schools grant and pupil premium rates for the duration of this parliament.
“We want every child to have the opportunity to fulfil their potential, no matter where they live, so we have taken the historic step of introducing a new national funding formula, to end the unfair school funding by postcode. We are also investing £23 billion in the school estate to rebuild schools, open hundreds of new ones and create hundreds of thousands more school places.”
Demographic surge
Responding to the news, Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, sounded a note of caution regarding the announced funding reforms: “Any changes to the school funding system must protect disadvantaged children, with funding going where it is most needed rather than where it is most asked for. We urge the Government to conduct a proper consultation to ensure any new system is fair for all children and to give schools a proper transitional period to prepare.”
Malcolm Trobe, Deputy General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, meanwhile noted that, “The increase to the overall education budget announced today is largely driven by the need to provide more school places for children because of a demographic surge in pupil numbers. The amount of money spent per pupil is likely to remain the same. In other words, the ‘extra’ money will be spent on providing these places.
We are extremely concerned to learn that the Government intends to cut the education services grant which pays for essential support services to schools by around £600 million. We also question how the Education Secretary’s plans for ‘wraparound’ childcare, which were announced in October, are going to be funded as today’s spending announcement does not appear to answer that question.”
