Literacy news
Spending Review: “The most important ingredient of a 21st century economy is well-educated children”
20 Oct 2010
Schools in England are to get a real-terms increase in funding, the Chancellor George Osborne has said.
Whilst unveiling the biggest UK spending cuts in decades, the Chancellor outlined his belief in the importance of education. Mr Osborne said, “The most important ingredient of a 21st century economy is well-educated children who believe in themselves and aspire to a better life, whatever their background or disadvantages”.
The schools budget will rise from £35bn to £39bn over the next four years. Schools have been promised increased funding every year, for the next four years, just as a demographic bulge puts pressure on primary classrooms.
The additional spending will help schools deal with a rise in the numbers of pupils, as well as delivering the coalition's £2.5bn pupil premium aimed at supporting the most disadvantaged.
The government will raise the school participation age from 16 to 18 by the end of this parliament. It will also scrap the Education Maintenance Allowance, a grant intended to keep 16 to 19-year-olds from poorer homes in education. This will be replaced with "targeted support" for those facing financial barriers to education.
There will also be 15 free hours of early education and care for all disadvantaged two-year-olds. The existing 15 hours a week of free care for all three and four-year-olds will be maintained. The Sure Start scheme, which provides centres and services to families of young children, will continue. It will be protected "in cash terms", Mr Osborne said, and will focus on "its original remit".
The Chancellor outlined savings including cutting central administration by a third and abolishing five education quangos. The government also plans to end a range of education programmes, and replace them with streamlined funding aimed at the poorest.
Details from the Department for Education say that although the schools budget will increase, there will be a 3% cut in the department's "resource spending”.
Abigail Moss Deputy Director at The National Literacy Trust says, “The National Literacy Trust is pleased to see the Government announce the most important ingredient of a 21st century economy is well-educated children. We are also pleased the budget for schools and Sure Start centres has been largely protected.
However, specific decisions on how central departments and local authorities will support the infrastructure around education, including libraries both public and in schools, community initiatives and adult basic skills training are yet to be announced. These will be just as important to the development of literacy in the UK as today’s announcements and so any optimism must be guarded until all the details are known.”
Read more on the DFE website
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