UK: English schools funding has fallen faster than in Wales, says IFS

Europa/Reino Unido/The Guardian

Resumen:  La financiación escolar en Inglaterra ha disminuido en un 8% en términos reales desde 2010, a un ritmo más rápido que en Gales, lo que significa que la financiación por alumno en los dos países es casi la misma por primera vez en muchos años, según las cifras producidas por el Instituto de Estudios Fiscales. El IFS dijo que los recortes en Inglaterra son impulsados ​​por una combinación de una mayor caída en el gasto por parte de las autoridades locales y el gasto de la sexta forma de la escuela, más un crecimiento más rápido en el número de alumnos. «Como resultado, la brecha en el gasto escolar por alumno entre Inglaterra y Gales ha sido prácticamente eliminada», dijo en una investigación que se publicará el jueves. Las nuevas estimaciones se producen cuando se espera que Damian Hinds, el secretario de educación en Londres, cabildee ante el Tesoro para obtener fondos adicionales en la próxima ronda de gastos, mientras que los docentes esperan noticias de las últimas recomendaciones salariales esperadas en las próximas semanas. Si, como se esperaba, los maestros reciben una oferta de pago más generosa, Hinds estará bajo presión por dinero extra para evitar que las escuelas tengan que cumplir con el aumento salarial de sus presupuestos existentes. Mientras que el gobierno de Londres argumenta que el gasto ha aumentado en un 1% en términos reales entre 2009-10 y 2017-18, como resultado de su decisión de proteger el financiamiento escolar, el IFS explica que un aumento del 10% en el número de alumnos en Inglaterra más que contrarrestó el nivel de recortes en Gales, donde el número de alumnos no ha cambiado.

School funding in England has fallen by 8% in real terms since 2010, at a faster rate than in Wales, meaning that per pupil funding in the two countries is almost the same for the first time in many years, according to figures produced by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

The IFS said that the cuts in England are driven by a combination of a greater fall in spending by local authorities and school sixth form spending plus faster growth in pupil numbers. “As a result, the gap in school spending per pupil between England and Wales has been virtually eliminated,” it said in research to be published on Thursday.

The new estimates come as Damian Hinds, the education secretary in London, is expected to lobby the Treasury for additional funding in the next spending round, while teachers await news of the latest pay recommendations expected within the next few weeks.

While the government in London argues that spending has risen by 1% in real terms between 2009-10 and 2017-18, as a result of its decision to protect school funding, the IFS explains that a 10% rise in pupil numbers in England has more than counteracted the level of cuts in Wales, where pupil numbers are largely unchanged.

As a result, in real terms, spending has fallen by 8% in England, compared with Wales’s 5%, so that the gap in spending has fallen from £300 per pupil to just £100, which the IFS describes as “a modest difference”. But even that gap in England is eroded by higher costs that some schools face, especially in London, with higher teacher salaries.

Nationally, the IFS calculates that schools in England receive £5,870 per pupil, while their counterparts in Wales receive an average of £5,760.

Explaining how its figures differ from those of the London government, the IFS said: “Our bigger estimated cut of 8% between 2009-10 and 2017-18 includes the additional effects of much larger cuts to school sixth form spending per pupil (25%) and local authority spending (55%). Local authority services include spending on home-to-school transport, additional support for pupils with special educational needs, central administration.”

“Schools in England have faced the additional pressure of a fast-growing pupil population, whilst numbers in Wales have remained roughly constant.”

The Department for Education says that by 2020, core school funding in England will rise to a record £43.5bn, while the introduction of its new national funding formula will address “historic disparities in the system” and see traditionally underfunded rural areas receive a boost

Fuente: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/jul/12/english-schools-funding-has-fallen-faster-than-in-wales-says-ifs