I always enjoy visiting schools in Northampton North and over the past ten years I have done so dozens of times. I very much admire the teaching profession and take the view that a good education is a precious right for everyone. I am therefore delighted that the Prime Minister has announced that the Government is boosting schools nationwide with an extra £14 billion, levelling up per pupil funding across the country so every child has a world class education
We should not accept the idea that there can be winners or losers when it comes to our children’s futures. That is why this government is providing additional funding now and for the future for every school, with those historically underfunded receiving the greatest increase.
Additionally, we have also pledged to meet the £4.5 billion requirement for teachers’ pensions from outside the education budget. This means that every penny of the extra £14 billion will go straight to school and deliver the best educational outcomes for our children. The starting salaries of teachers will also rise significantly from £23,720 to £30,000 by 2022/2023.
The £14 billion funding boost will mean:
- Every school will get a real terms funding rise next year. In every part of the country, next year every school will see a real terms rise in their funding.
- Secondary schools – every secondary school will receive an increased minimum of £5,000 per pupil next year.
- Primary schools – every primary school will get a minimum of £3,750 from 2020-21 and £4,000 per pupil from 2021-22.
- Special Educational Needs and Disabilities - £700 million extra for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in 2020-21, so every pupil can access the education that is right for them, and none are held back from reaching their potential.
- Further Education - Further Education and Sixth Form Colleges will receive £400 million additional funding to train and teach our young people the skills they need for well-paid jobs in the modern economy. They will also get an extra £100m to fund the extra pensions provision which this year they had to fund from existing budgets.
- Historically under-funded areas prioritised – we will progress the implementation of our National Funding Formula, delivering promised gains in full for areas which have been historically under-funded.
- Increasing the schools budget to £52.2 billion by 2022-23 – the funding package for 5-16 schools includes £2.6 billion for 2020-21, £4.8 billion for 2021-22, and £7.1 billion for 2022-23 compared to 2019-20. This will bring the schools budget to £52.2 billion in 2022-23.