School sixth forms could see their funding boosted if the government implements a recommendation from today’s independent review of post-18 education and funding.
Currently, 17 year-olds on full-time study programmes are funded at a base rate of £4,000 a year, but this figure is cut to £3,300 when they turn 18.
This 17.5 per cent reduction was introduced in 2014, with then-education secretary Michael Gove saying the “painful” cut was “forced on us” by the Treasury.
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The issue is addressed in the Augar Review, which was commissioned by the DfE to examine post-18 education, and published its report today.
It says: “We can find no evidence to justify the lower base rate set for 18-year-olds in colleges compared to that for 16- and 17-year-olds.
“We are not persuaded by the suggestion that 18-year-olds require less teaching, indeed many have had difficulties in their previous education and may need even more hours to successfully complete their course.”
It recommends that “the reduction in the core funding rate for 18-year-olds should be reversed”.
Kevin Gilmartin, post-16 and colleges specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said the union would “entirely agree” with the recommendation.
He told Tes: “The government itself has acknowledged that this is an unfair anomaly by recommending in its own consultation on T level funding that the base rate for 18 year-olds should be paid at the full £4,000.
“There can be no logic whatsoever in funding one 18-year-old more than another when they are both studying full-time programmes.
“It is part of the reason that the post-16 sector is under such serious financial pressure, alongside the fact that the level of funding for 16 and 17 year-olds is also totally inadequate.”
Earlier this month, a Tes investigation revealed that more than 70 sixth forms have shut or are set to close amid major funding pressures.
And separate research by the Education Policy Institute warned that schools that provide 16-19 education face deficits that are likely to become unsustainable.
At the launch of the Augar Review’s report this morning, prime minister Theresa May said: “Decisions about whether and how to implement these recommendations will not fall to me, but to the next government.
“But regardless of the debate to come, there can be no doubt that this report represents a major landmark.”
The report’s main recommendations include reducing university tuition fees to £7,500 and reintroducing maintenance grants to help encourage disadvantaged pupils progress to university.
