Schools White Paper: What to Expect from the Government’s “Blueprint for Opportunity” To Bridge the “Disadvantage Gap”

The government is set to publish its schools white paper on Monday, with reforms that will have a direct impact on the FE sector:

• A new funding model based on household income could reshape the disadvantage landscape for learners entering post-16 education
• Generational reform to SEND aims to deliver better support earlier, a priority shared across schools and colleges
• Place-based ‘Mission’ programmes in the North East and coastal areas will rely on collaboration across the education system, including FE providers

SEND

Life chances for disadvantaged children and children with SEND will be transformed as the government sets out plans this week to rebalance the school system and cut the link between background and success.  

Every Child Achieving and Thriving

The government’s landmark schools white paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, set to be published tomorrow (Monday 23 February) will chart a path to halving the gap between outcomes for poorer children and their peers, alongside generational reform to the SEND system.  

Disadvantage gap

The disadvantage gap is as stark today as it was over a decade ago in 2014, with only 44% of poorer children achieving a pass at grade 4 or above in their maths and English GCSEs, compared to over 70% of children who do not receive free school meals. 

This is not the sign of a system delivering high standards for every child, but one that is sidelining too many children. To tackle these stubborn gaps, the government will radically reform the way disadvantage funding is given to schools in order to make sure the system delivers better for children. 

Using household income rather than the binary indicator of whether a child receives free school meals or not, funding could for example be determined by a stepped model, ultimately meaning greater levels of investment for schools supporting the poorest children. 

Building on the revolutionary impact of the London Challenge in the early 2000s, which helped transform educational outcomes across the Capital through collaboration and targeted intervention, and the local innovation that already exists in the school system, the white paper will also set out plans for two new area-based challenges: Mission North East and Mission Coastal. The schemes will drive up outcomes for pupils locally including white working-class children by bringing together schools, parents and communities to develop innovative strategies that will deliver sustained improvement and provide a blueprint for change nationally.  

The white paper cements this government’s view that for too long, schools have been treated as islands rather than one part of their communities, with the old system focused only on what happens when children walk through the school gates. The government’s action to lift the two child benefit cap, put a family hub in every local council and provide 30 hours of early years education are all critical to giving every child the best start in life, ultimately improving life chances for young people and easing pressures on families.    

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: 

“These reforms are a golden opportunity to cut the link between background and success – one that we must seize.

“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.”

The Schools White paper will also set out:  

• A new attendance target to recover 20 million school days per year by the end of the 2028/29AY compared to 2023/24AY, equivalent to 100,000 more pupils attending school full time and the fastest rate of improvement in over a decade. 
• Piloting 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. 
• School teachers, leaders, and support staff will see their maternity pay boosted for the first time in over 25 years, helping more women to stay on in the profession and thrive. 
• Plans for new ‘School Profiles’ – an information service for every school that will act as a one-stop-shop for parents, showcasing key information around attendance, attainment and enrichment. 
• A commitment to develop minimum expectations for schools around engagement with parents, for example timely communication and high quality transition from primary to secondary. 
• Exploring a new progress measure to better capture the progress and achievements of children who start secondary school significantly behind their peers.   

The government’s new disadvantage model has the potential to significantly rebalance how deprivation funding is distributed to schools, and in turn the level of support that schools with the poorest children receive.    

The model could take into account how low family income is, for how long this has been the case and the place a child lives. It would also remove the need for families to choose to take up the offer of a free meal in order to be eligible for deprivation funding and reduce the administrative burden on schools.   

SEND Reform

This week’s wider reforms to the system for children with SEND will set out how more children can and will receive better support, earlier, closer and without a fight. The plans will build on the investment government has made to-date – notably £3.7bn investment in 60,000 new places for children with SEND and £200m on training to make sure every teacher is a teacher of children with SEND.   

‘Funding’ refers to National Funding Formula Deprivation Funding and the pupil premium. 

Sector Reaction

Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:

“We welcome the government’s plans to reduce the disadvantage gap and its recognition that schools cannot do this on their own. Its rollout of family hubs, expansion of early years funding, and measures to reduce child poverty are also important steps in achieving better outcomes for these children. However, further action will be needed to address generational disadvantage and restore a sense of hope to many of our communities.

“We very much agree with the provision of more targeted funding for schools supporting the most disadvantaged children and have advocated for such a measure for several years. However, it is vital that this is done through additional investment into the education system, rather than distributing the same pot of money in a different way, with the risk of creating winners and losers.

“We look forward to discussing this in more detail with the government along with other measures in its white paper, including major reform of the special educational needs system.”

Jon Andrews, Interim Chief Executive and Head of Analysis at the Education Policy Institute (EPI), said:

“While we await the full details of the schools white paper, we welcome a renewed focus on funding for disadvantaged pupils.

“We have consistently argued for a sharper focus on those facing the deepest disadvantage. Our research shows that by the time they sit their GCSEs, pupils in persistent poverty are the equivalent of nearly two years of learning behind their peers. Despite this stark attainment gap, neither the Pupil Premium nor the National Funding Formula currently targets funding specifically towards persistently disadvantaged pupils.

“Considering wider measures of disadvantage has the potential to support children who currently slip through the net. While eligibility for Free School Meals (FSM) has been the long-standing metric for schools in England, its use is not without issues. Our research demonstrates that many eligible families are not registered for their entitlement – a problem that is particularly acute in early years settings and at the beginning of primary school.”  

Matt Wrack, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, said:

“Following a year of leaks and delays in publication, on Monday, teachers will finally be privy to the government’s plans for long term reform of education and SEND provision. Teachers’ involvement in the Schools White Paper is long overdue; though they are the bedrock of all education, their voices are conspicuously absent from these plans.

“The DfE say they wish to ‘rewire’ the education system, but the investment suggested in their proposals is barely enough to replace a plug socket. After fifteen years of austerity, which damaged the life chances of millions of young people and placed heavy burdens on the education system, schools face immense challenges. A whole range of services for families, children and young people have been run into the ground while schools, teachers and other school staff are left to pick up the pieces.

“It will take ambitious and sustained investment to dig schools out of this mess, but the investment this government has so far set out does not remotely address the scale of what is necessary to build a school system fit for the future. This is not a rewire or a reform – it is a rehash that risks placing additional burdens on schools and teachers. To identify what is actually required in schools, the voices of teachers must be heard.

“Teachers deal with the impact of austerity every day. The persistent plague of inequality has resulted in a litany of troubling pupil behaviours, falling attendance and achievement struggles. Teachers are already expected to be social workers, counsellors and security guards, and now it seems they may be required to fill other gaps in the system without adequate support. Teachers have many talents, but they cannot overcome a decade of systemic underfunding or growing SEND needs with a bit of extra training.

“The reward for teachers in all this, it seems, is to be a small increase in maternity pay. This is deeply insulting. The pitiful level of maternity pay within teaching is a national disgrace. Many areas of the public and private sector offer far better provision. We will await the full details of the White Paper but we are clear: we need national negotiations to deliver an immediate 26 weeks of fully paid maternity leave as a step towards the required rapid improvements in maternity, paternity and parental leave for teachers.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, representing leaders in the majority of schools in England, said:

“The changes to how disadvantage funding is allocated are potentially sensible ones, that should see those children most in need receiving the most support. Removing the demand for families to apply for free school meals if they qualify in order to be eligible for deprivation funding is something NAHT has long called for, that should help eliminate the barriers of stigma and reduce admin for schools.”

Susannah Hardyman MBE, CEO of Impetus, said:

“Raising the attainment of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds is one of the best actions governments can take to secure a better future for young people, the economy and society. After many years of stagnation, we are delighted to see the Schools White Paper make the concrete commitments needed to secure better outcomes for this group, currently 30 percentage-points less likely to get the GCSE qualifications that are crucial for progression into employment. 

“We are especially pleased to see movement toward adjusting the funding system to prioritise schools serving the most disadvantaged communities and promoting deeper engagement between schools and families. This is a vital first step to renew the broken social contract that our attendance research identified as a key driver for the post-pandemic surge in school absence.  

Nick Harrison, CEO of the Sutton Trust, said:

“The government’s focus on improving outcomes for disadvantaged young people is a serious and welcome commitment. The attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged young people is a ticking time bomb for opportunity and social cohesion, so setting a target to halve this gap is a big step in the right direction. This long-term goal should help concentrate efforts across the education system towards delivering meaningful change, but there must also be clear milestones along the way, so progress can be assessed and assured.

“Achieving this target to support disadvantaged pupils and close the attainment gap will be hugely challenging, requiring serious reform inside the education system and decisive action to reduce the effects of poverty outside the school gates, which also affects children’s learning every day.

“We welcome a shake-up in how school funding supports pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. But we should recognise that more resources will be needed in the coming years to deliver real results. Some changes could be delivered at no extra cost to the public purse, such as rebalancing the National Funding Formula back towards schools serving the most deprived areas.

“However, we cannot ignore the reality that the real terms value of the Pupil Premium has been shredded by inflation since 2014/15. And our research shows that incredibly tight finances are forcing many school leaders to use some of these funds to plug other gaps in their budgets. There’s a strong case for restoring the Pupil Premium back to its previous levels and easing the overall financial burden on schools, to enable schools to deliver these ambitious plans.

“The challenges facing young people are particularly acute in some parts of the country. Our research shows huge differences in education and employment outcomes for the poorest young people across England, particularly in the North East and coastal areas. Where you grow up shouldn’t determine your ability to get on in life. These new area-based challenges are a promising step towards targeting areas requiring extra attention.”

Responding to the Government’s schools white paper, which proposes changes to the way pupil premium is allocated, Munira Wilson MP, Liberal Democrat Education, Schools and Families Spokesperson, 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. 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.”

Following the publication of the Schools White Paper, NFER’s Co-Head of UK Policy and Practice, Jude Hillary, said:

“We have long called for changes to the measurement of pupil disadvantage to ensure that funding is accurately targeted at those most in need and to close the attainment gap. We are pleased that the Government has listened to NFER’s calls to develop a new measurement of disadvantage, such as our proposals to explore a household income-based measure.

“While we welcome the Department’s ambition to close the disadvantage attainment gap, there needs to be a concerted focus – with commensurate resources – on supporting disadvantaged pupils if the Government is to achieve its goal of reducing the gap by 50 per cent.

“We have highlighted how transitional arrangements, introduced as part of the Universal Credit roll out, and other anticipated changes to free school meal (FSM) eligibility will make it “almost impossible” to continue tracking the disadvantaged attainment gap over the next decade. It is crucial the Department reviews how the disadvantaged attainment gap is measured going forward alongside reviewing funding arrangements, this could include exploring the household income-based disadvantage measure.  Adapting the way the gap is measured is critical to ensuring that progress against this new ambition can be adequately and robustly assessed.

“We also welcome the Government’s proposed review of funding arrangements for targeting support towards disadvantaged pupils. However, careful consideration will be required to ensure proposals are feasible in practice.”