School leaders will have been reassured by the autumn budget. Following heavy pitch rolling about difficult trade-offs ahead, the fact the schools budget did not fall victim to the Chancellor’s red pen is good news. But the new Government must know that an additional £2.3 billion alone will not be sufficient to give children the education and enrichment they deserve.
Young people were some of the hardest hit by the pandemic. Half of pupils in state comprehensive schools feel their progress suffered in school due to Covid. Two in five do not feel ready for their next step. Referrals to children and adolescents’ mental health services (CAMHS) are at an all-time high.
These problems did not start in 2020. Despite overall attainment rising, the disadvantage gap has scarcely closed in over a decade. And employers are frustrated because pupils are leaving school lacking the softer skills needed to operate in a workplace: the CBI reports two in five of its members feel school leavers are not ‘work ready’.
