Education secretary Bridget Phillipson promised radical school funding reforms yesterday to ‘cut the link’ between children’s background and their success.
She unveiled plans to give more money to schools supporting the poorest children and target what officials called the ‘disadvantage gap’.
But last night, the Tories raised fears that the plans would damage other children’s education ‘by simply dragging everyone down’.
Ahead of the publication of the schools’ White paper on Monday, Ms Phillipson said that it would include plans to channel greater investment to schools supporting the poorest children.
That will be done by allocating the so-called ‘pupil premium’ cash not on whether a child gets free school meals or not but on household income.
There will also be new ‘retention incentives’ of up to £15,000 for newly-appointed head teachers to work for sustained periods in parts of the country that need them most.
The Department for Education said that school teachers, leaders, and support staff would also see their maternity pay boosted for the first time in over 25 years, helping more women to stay on in the profession and thrive.
The white paper, entitled ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’, would chart a path to halving the gap between outcomes for poorer children and their peers, officials added.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson unveiled plans to give more money to schools supporting the poorest children and target what officials called the ‘disadvantage gap’
They warned that the disadvantage gap for schoolchildren was as stark today as it was over a decade ago in 2014, with only 44 per cent of poorer children achieving a pass at grade 4 or above in their maths and English GCSEs, compared to over 70 per cent of children who did not receive free school meals
The White Paper will also set out ‘generational’ but controversial plans to overhaul the provision of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in English schools amid nervousness among some Labour MPs over the detailed implications of the proposed changes.
However, last week, five former Labour education secretaries – including Lord Blunkett – made a joint appeal to Labour MPs to seize the ‘once in a generation change’ to fix a failing system.
And last night, Ms Phillipson hailed the overall white paper reforms as ‘a golden opportunity to cut the link between background and success – one that we must seize.’
The Education Secretary added: ‘Our schools have made great strides in recent decades.
‘Yet for too long, many children in our country have been let down by a one-size fits all system, denied opportunity because they’re poor or because they have additional needs.
‘Our schools white paper presents the blueprint for opportunity for the next generation, with an education system that truly serves every child, whatever their needs and wherever in the country they grow up.’
However, Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott MP responded by raising concerns over the implications of the reforms for children’s education overall.
She said: ‘It is wrong to narrow the disadvantage gap by simply dragging everyone down.
‘We have seen before how school reforms grounded in evidence raised standards and helped the most disadvantaged succeed.
‘There is a real fear that, like the Schools Bill, this risks moving away from what we know works.’
The funding reforms were also challenged by the Liberal Democrats who raised fears that they would ‘hardwire’ regional inequality into the schools system.
Education spokesperson Munira Wilson said: ‘The Lib Dems introduced the pupil premium in Government to make sure extra funding followed disadvantaged children throughout their education.
‘We will fight tooth and nail to protect that principle.
‘Basing funding on income alone risks hard-wiring regional inequalities into the system.’
She added: ‘Instead of reshuffling a fixed pot of money – risking new cliff edges that will leave struggling families even worse off – Ministers must restore the pupil premium to its 2015 real-terms value.
‘Starmer must also guarantee that any investment will rise with inflation, so no child is left without the support they need.’
