Teachers have had to cover gaps in services amid a crisis facing vulnerable children, a former Department for Education adviser has said.
The warning comes in a Sutton Trust report, written by Sam Freedman, reviewing the impact of 20 years of school reforms in England.
It highlights how the scrapping of children’s trusts by the former coalition government, cuts in funding to support services, the impact of the pandemic and higher levels of poverty, mental health needs and special educational needs and disabilities have created “a crisis for vulnerable children”.
In the report, Mr Freedman warns that teachers “have increasingly had to cover this gap, leading to more burnout and worse retention”.
“We have also seen a big jump in the numbers missing school and being suspended for poor behaviour in the last few years”, he adds.
Growing challenges in education
Mr Freedman’s report states that reforms since 1988 have led to a “real improvement in standards”.
But he adds that there is a risk “that a relatively positive story masks a growing array of challenges, especially around the lives of the most vulnerable pupils, and the impact this is having on schools and colleges”.
The report also warns that despite a major focus on disadvantage throughout the New Labour and Coalition years, in the past 20 years, there has been no real progress in closing the attainment gap between disadvantaged students on free school meals and their peers.
Mr Freedman adds that in the final years of the Conservative government, there was “a reversal” of this focus, with changes to the funding formula “directing funding to schools with better-off intakes, and a failure of pupil premium funding to keep pace with inflation”.
This has been described as the “biggest education failure of the last government” by Sir Peter Lampl, founder of the Sutton Trust and the Education Endowment Foundation.
“The Conservatives lost their focus on disadvantage,” he added.
“It’s hugely damaging for both young people and the country that the talent of so many youngsters is being wasted.
“The Labour government says it will break down barriers to opportunity but as yet, there is no sense that the scale of investment and policy action needed to deliver this will be forthcoming.”
MATs became major players ‘almost by stealth’
Mr Freedman’s report also reflects on the changing school landscape as many schools moved away from local authorities (LAs) and into multi-academy trusts (MATs).
While some MATs have been highly successful, others have struggled, the report says.
Mr Freedman adds that MATs “became major players in the school system almost by stealth, and their purpose has never been clearly legally defined or elucidated by government”.
He adds that the pandemic continues to be a “major challenge” for schools that highlighted issues with the current system.
The report said this included the Department for Education “struggling to manage such a centralised system during a time of crisis” as a result of schools moving towards MATs.
How will problems be fixed without investment?
On questions facing the new government, Mr Freedman says: “The new government faces an array of challenges across almost every policy area, including across the school system.
“However, due to both the wider economic situation and political choices made by the new government, very little money is available to pay for solutions.
“It is hard to see how many of the challenges schools face - from teacher recruitment through to a run-down school estate - will be fixed without investment.”
The DfE has been contacted for comment.
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