The next government must “reverse the erosion” of pupil premium funding and require schools to prioritise pupils eligible for the funding to help close the disadvantage gap, a social mobility charity has said.
Polling from the Sutton Trust, published today, has found that most of the public (55 per cent) feel the government does not do enough to ensure richer and poorer children have the same opportunities within the same school.
The Sutton Trust is calling for a national strategy to close the attainment gap as one of its key priorities for the next government now campaigns have started for the general election on 4 July.
The disadvantage gap at key stage 4 reached its widest point since 2011 in 2022-23, according to the latest data from the Department for Education. Researchers at the Education Policy Institute have since found it has widened across all educational phases since before the pandemic.
“For too long, successive governments have failed to increase opportunities for low- and moderate-income young people,” said Sir Peter Lampl, Sutton Trust and Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) founder.
“As a result, there is a yawning gap in attainment between the well-off and their less affluent peers, which is the main reason we have low and declining social mobility in this country. ”
The charity has been calling on the parties standing to put in place several measures to narrow the disadvantage gap and ensure equality in education. These are some of the key costed recommendations it has outlined:
1. Reverse ‘erosion’ of pupil premium funding
The charity recommends the next government “reverse the erosion” of pupil premium funding in real terms - which has been happening since 2014-15 - by the end of the parliamentary term. It has calculated this would cost £140 million in the first year and benefit 2.1 million disadvantaged pupils.
The Sutton Trust further recommends extending the pupil premium to post-16 institutions with a grant of around £750 per pupil to cost around £230 million. It added this could be initially piloted in a group of local authorities to evaluate how the money is spent.
It also calls on the government to widen access to high-performing schools by requiring schools to prioritise pupils eligible for the pupil premium as an oversubscription criterion - including grammar schools.
More than a quarter (28 per cent) of respondents to the Sutton Trust’s poll said giving more money to schools to support poorer children would be the most effective policy to ensure equality in education.
The NAHT school leaders’ union’s general secretary Paul Whiteman said the poll showed it is clear the public supports greater investment into children getting the best start in life.
“We would like to see all parties commit to prioritising education should they win the next election,” he said.
“That should include investment from the early years upwards so that nurseries and schools have the resources to ensure every single child and young person gets the education they deserve.”
2. Redistribute core school funding
On top of this, the charity has been calling for the National Funding Formula (NFF) to be reformed to rebalance funding towards schools serving the most disadvantaged communities.
While the authors of the report said overall school funding does need to be increased, the distribution of it can be addressed first.
A recent survey for the Sutton Trust found nearly three-quarters of primary school senior leaders reported having to cut teaching assistants this year due to funding shortfalls.
Half of primary leaders also reported having to use the pupil premium to plug budget gaps.
3. Review the use of artificial intelligence (AI)
The charity says it will be imperative for the next government to conduct a review of AI and its use in education.
The purpose of the review should focus on how new technologies can be used to narrow gaps rather than widen them, it adds.
Nearly a third of respondents to the Sutton Trust’s survey (29 per cent) said lack of access to a good education is one of the main barriers to succeeding in life.
And 62 per cent of respondents also said children from richer families get better opportunities in school.
4. Tackle the recruitment and retention crisis
To tackle the teacher recruitment and retention crisis, the Sutton Trust recommends increasing investment in continuing professional development (CPD) and enhancing financial incentives and flexibility for teachers to work in the most disadvantaged schools.
It has calculated extending the levelling up premium for early career teachers to more subjects and increasing it by £2,500-£3,000 would cost £46 million and impact 9,000 teachers a year.
Teach First CEO Russell Hobby said great schools and teachers are “critical” to give young people the best start in life possible and added “we must see manifesto pledges to target funding and resources towards schools serving disadvantaged communities”.
5. Extend free school meal (FSM) eligibility
The charity recommends the next government expand FSM eligibility to all children in households with Universal Credit recipients, as well as increasing breakfast club provision.
It says this would bring around one million children into eligibility and cost between £360 million to £540 million.
Former children’s commissioner Anne Longfield has previously called for universal FSM eligibility to be rolled out in the areas of the country serving the most disadvantaged young people.
6. Reinstate the National Tutoring Programme
Funding for the National Tutoring Programme, which aimed to help disadvantaged students in particular catch up post-pandemic, is set to end after this academic year - despite warnings from across the sector this is a missed opportunity.
The Sutton Trust has calculated reinstating this with a 75 per cent subsidy for schools would cost £66 million for tutoring for around 220,000 pupil per year.
Alternatively, it says this could be paid for through an expanded pupil premium with guidance on how to spend it on tutoring.
7. Tackle pupil absence and invest in wider support services
And finally, the Sutton Trust is calling for the next government to invest in wider support services for young people, such as mental health services to relieve some of the burden on schools.
It says evidence-based interventions are needed to tackle the absence crisis in schools, with a particular focus on the most disadvantaged students.
Government data last month showed overall and persistent absence had risen for the spring term of 2023-24 compared to 2022-23, despite government efforts to tackle it.
The overall absence rate for FSM pupils was double the rate of their peers.
Nick Brook, CEO of Speakers for Schools, said: “Investment in education is the surest path to improved social mobility and a happier, healthier and wealthier nation. Until education is seen as an investment in this country’s future rather than a drain on Treasury coffers, we stand little chance of shifting the dial far in improving the life chances of young people.”
The new polling for the Sutton Trust was carried out by More in Common in February. There were 2,075 respondents.
The Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats were contacted for comment.
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