On a regular basis, Scotland’s media will scrabble around to find ways in which we should remember were are just like the rest of the UK. For example, where’s a surge in homelessness in another part of the UK, they’ll rush out to find one Scottish case and his mum to cry for the cameras.
Within the limits of the devolution funding arrangements, the SNP in government has done what it can to reduce inequality with more progressive taxation, the child payment and a range of other benefits to help disadvantaged groups.
On 11 December 2023, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) revealed:
Secondary schools with the most disadvantaged pupils saw spending per pupil fall by 12% in real terms between 2010 and 2021, compared with 5% for schools in the most affluent areas.
Amongst early years providers, extra funding for disadvantaged children has declined from a 60% add-on to the core hourly funding rate in 2017, down to about 38% extra in 2023.
These are among the main conclusions of the new ‘Annual Report on Education Spending in England: 2023’ by researchers at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, published today and funded by the Nuffield Foundation. This year’s report has a special focus on geographical differences, and the levels of funding targeted at disadvantaged children and young people.
https://ifs.org.uk/news/schools-serving-disadvantaged-children-have-faced-biggest-funding-cuts
There is no similar news from Scotland though I feel sure Reporting Scotland staff are currently looking for a head teacher who will claim that this happens here too.
What there is, in Scotland, is this evidence of a different approach:
Final allocations for Pupil Equity Funding, the Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund and National Programmes will be published in the Spring.
The investment of £43 million will be distributed equitably between 32 local authorities based on Children in Low Income Families data for the 2019/20 financial year. A full breakdown of allocations will be published in due course.
Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) was introduced in 2017-18 providing funding directly to 97% of schools in Scotland based on the number of P1-S3 pupils registered for free school meals, used as a proxy measure for socio-economic disadvantage.
The Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund was introduced in 2018-19 with funding allocated to all local authorities based on the number of looked after children they have in their care or schools aged between 5-15, but with the funding available to be invested to support all care experienced children and young people aged between 0-26.
https://www.gov.scot/news/closing-the-attainment-gap-4/#:~:text=Pupil%20Equity%20Funding%20(PEF)%20was,measure%20for%20socio%2Deconomic%20disadvantage.
This clear difference can be added to the many reported earlier here, including:
Scotland IS a different place as its universities offer guaranteed places to care leavers
Abuse of women and the disabled far higher in England than in Scotland
Scottish Muslim students far less likely to report abuse or crime?
Terror de-radicalisation referral rate in Scotland less than one third per capita of that in England
Scientific evidence that Scots tend to be different from the other groups in rUK?
Who said Scots were not more left-wing than those in the rest of the UK?
Different Scotland in the UN report on ‘Workhouse Britain’
Scottish values making oil and gas firms a tad different too?
Are Scotland’s employers also different – more willing to pay a decent wage?
Another difference as UK small and medium-sized business people prefer Boris while Scots prefer…
Another difference between Scotland and rUK?
NHS England’s new motto: Who is laike us? Dem few and they err awl daid!
Scottish Government support for small businesses superior to that in non-Scottish parts of UK
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
… but , Ferries !!!
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Regarding the report featured in the above bog post, Luke Sibieta, IFS Research Fellow and an author of the report is quoted in the press statement from the IFS (with my emphasis):
‘Education providers face a MULTITUDE OF BUDGET CHALLENGES. Rising inflation and costs are ERODING THE REAL-TERMS VALUE OF BUDGETS ACROSS THE EARLY YEARS, SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ALIKE.
‘At the recent Autumn Statement, THE GOVERNMENT CHOSE NOT TO TOP UP EDUCATION SPENDING PLANS, BUT INSTEAD FOCUS ON REDUCING TAXES.
‘We also see that SCHOOLS SERVING THE MOST DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN HAVE FACED THE BIGGEST SPENDING CUTS OVER TIME, and support for disadvantaged students in colleges and sixth forms is still relatively modest.
‘Schools will have benefited from decisions to increase DEPRIVATION FUNDING this year. However, we have seen INCREASES IN EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITIES since the pandemic, GROWING HARDSHIP due to the rising cost of living, and SEVERE STRAIN ON CHILDREN’S SOCIAL SERVICES. This MAGNIFIES THE CHALLENGES FACED BY NURSERIES, SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES SERVING THE MOST DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.’
So the IFS report is flagging up across the board budget ‘problems’ impacting the whole spectrum of England’s educational provision under Westminster’s control.
Why is this happening? Is Westminster ‘unable’ to fund education in England better for supposed financial prudence reasons? Or is its decision based on other political reasons? Whatever, the IFS report makes clear that funding for education in England has not been sufficient to meet needs, address inequalities nor protect from inflation. All this has knock-on resource consequences over time for the governments responsible for education in NI, Scotland and Wales.
The resource envelope to enable different/better choices to be made by governments with only devolved powers is limited: spending on different priorities may bring benefits to their electorate and communities but this is very difficult to sustain across their portfolio of public services if UK/England is being impacted by Westminster-imposed austerity – yet again.
If only it was only Westminster’s failure to provide the resources necessary to address the needs of education in England that was having a negative impact on NI, Scotland and Wales under their devolution settlements! But that is very far from the situation – it goes very much wider than that!
See ‘As austerity looms (again!), time for re-evaluation – spectating in Union vs. exerting agency as an independent nation?’
At https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2023/12/07/as-austerity-looms-again-time-for-re-evaluation-spectating-in-union-vs-exerting-agency-as-an-independent-nation/
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I wanted to comment on education because today, 21st February 2024, the Scotsman reported “intense pressure as one in two pupils in parts of Scotland have ASN.”
I checked the government website for the latest figures and they were total number of pupils 705874 and number with special needs 241639.
Perhaps the Scotsman was hoping to mislead? The article needs a subscription so I couldn’t read all of it.
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