Give schools the resources they need

Our verdict

• This is a commitment to support schools by providing the resources they require to carry out their functions.
• A report from the National Audit Office in June 2021 found that “average per-pupil funding was virtually unchanged in real terms between 2014-15 and 2020-21”. Teaching unions have challenged the government over its failure to provide sufficient resources (for example, laptops) for schools during the coronavirus pandemic, and say the March 2021 Budget “provided schools with no new resources to manage coronavirus”. In June 2021, the government announced an education recovery funding package of £1.4 billion. This was less than one-tenth of what the government’s own education recovery commissioner, Sir Kevan Collins, had said was required – leading him to resign in protest.
• The government continues to invest in schools, but expert observers have cast doubt on the adequacy of resource provision, teaching unions have resorted to legal action because schools lack “the resources they need”, and they warn of looming staff cuts due to inadequate funding.  The meagre recovery funding package for schools in June 2021 is further evidence of inadequate resourcing. The situation might improve, but current evidence points to this policy being ‘broken’.