Benjamin Franklin once said that “investment in education always pays the highest returns”.

Perhaps instead of placing bets on election dates and outcomes, our politicians should heed these words and recognise education is not a cost burden but rather an investment for growth and productivity.

Sadly, at present, this rarely feels like the case; with crumbling buildings, a recruitment crisis, scandalous special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) shortages and young people physically and emotionally manifesting the real cost of failures to prioritise students, staff and schools at all phases and stages.

It means whoever wins the election come Friday has plenty to fix if they want to ensure an investment in education pays off in the future.

Geographic concerns

We cannot turn a blind eye to the intersectionality of discrimination and poverty which diminishes opportunity for the families and futures of young people.

For example, those residing in our more isolated communities are subject to a rural premium of 10-20 per cent, despite wages being 7.5 per cent lower than urban counterparts, affecting supply, connectivity and transport to already scarce services.

As such, any future government must consider funding reform that matches not only the actual costs of delivering provision, but is also aware of the geography of many of our schools.

SEND support

If a funding model addresses the cost of provision in the mainstream, then high-needs funding for SEND and alternative provision must do the same and be based on the actual cost of provision.

After all, if we genuinely value the vision of the green paper and implementation plan for SEND, then we have to transform the outdated, unchanged funding models and provide the investment it will take to realise the right support at the right place in the right time.

This should be ring fenced with cross-party protection to ensure the long-term investment needed in young people alongside leaders’ ability to plan, implement and evaluate impact without being derailed by changes in government or policy priority.

Teacher development

No initiative ensures school improvement more than a talented teacher in every classroom.

We need a long-term approach to reliable pay and progression to secure a consistent, sustainable supply of staff to a thriving, respected profession.

All school staff need to know that the sector provides consistently competitive salaries for all - and that, when issued, they come with appropriate funding, too.

Fixing schools

Young people cannot learn in leaky, flaky buildings.

Sufficient capital funding is needed for the maintenance and improvement of the school estate, independently checked against increased pupil numbers and the repair and rebuild required.

Long-standing and well-documented issues must not be sacrificed to fund the urgency of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). The existing, eye-popping estimated shortfall of £16 billion cannot be ignored while school leaders are left chasing a plethora of elusive pots simply to apply sticking plasters to the fabric of their schools.

PFI scandals and wasted time

No one should be making a profit from public money at the expense of young people, as facilitated by complex and perverse PFI contracts stripping affected schools of essential resources.

There must also be an end to the embarrassing cumulative waste from multiple abandoned schemes and shelved initiatives.

Too much time has been lost by schools lurching between initiatives that are the predilection of politicians - rather than ideas with long-term benefits at their heart.

Let’s bet on children’s futures

The economic reality is undeniably more challenging than at any previous time. Any new government will face many demands for resource as well as a desperate national desire for hope and optimism.

Yet, for much talk of growth and the economy from all parties, productivity has to come from somewhere.

Sustainable long-term investment is required to ensure the environment where schools and colleges can grow the knowledge, skills and talent for an ambitious and innovative national renewal that will last for generations to come.

Whatever the odds, the polls and the pundits say, our young people must be able to step into the future that we all need; if we do not invest in them and their education, surely that is the greatest example of betting against the house.

Caroline Barlow is vice-chair of the Headteachers’ Roundtable

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