Education funding in England has become “less progressive” over the last decade, with efforts to target cash at poorer pupils diminished by demographic changes and government policy decisions.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies found that the extra funding for schools with disadvantaged intakes fell from around 35 per cent in 2010 to less than 25 per cent in 2019, about the same level as it was in 2000.
The report also found the gap between state school funding and average private school fees in England has more than doubled since 2009, from £3,100 to £6,500.
The figures will make for uncomfortable reading for the government, which has claimed in recent years to be “levelling up” deprived areas of the country.
