Education Policy Institute | Schools Week

Four things we learned from the EPI’s analysis of 2021-22 school funding allocations

Efforts to “level-up” school funding in England will benefit better-off pupils more than their poorer peers, according to new analysis by the Education Policy Institute. The think tank has published analysis of school funding allocations for 2021-22. The government is now in its third year of allocating funding to councils based on its new national […]

EPI: Suspend Ofsted inspections until 2021 and launch retired teacher volunteer scheme

Suspending Ofsted inspections until next year and asking retired teachers to volunteer would help disadvantaged pupils “catch up” when schools reopen, a think tank has suggested. Education Policy Institute researchers warn poorer children could fall “seriously” and further behind as a result of school closures and disruption to the economy, wiping out over a “decade’s […]

EPI study reveals postcode lottery of support staff spending

Pupils face a postcode lottery when it comes to spending on school support staff, with some schools spending up to 64 per cent more than others on teaching assistants. Analysis by the Education Policy Institute found that although the number of teaching assistants employed by state-funded schools in England has more than trebled since the […]

Free schools ‘failing to reach most disadvantaged areas’

The government’s flagship free schools programme is failing to reach some of England’s lowest performing areas and disproportionately drawing pupils from neighbourhoods that achieve higher results, a new report has found. Free schools, the first of which were opened in 2011, are also being opened in regions where there is far less demand for school […]

Poorer pupils ‘would miss out under PM’s school funding pledge’

Disadvantaged pupils would miss out on additional money under the prime minister’s pledge to “level up” per-pupil funding for schools, new analysis reveals. The Education Policy Institute found Boris Johnson’s plans for new minimum per-pupil funding levels “would disproportionately direct additional funding towards the least disadvantaged schools”. Johnson vowed to increase levels of funding from […]

The 6 key points from EPI’s ‘Secondary School Choice in England’ report

The Education Policy Institute (EPI) has published new analysis looking at how parents choose which secondary schools to send their children to in England. Each child can list up to six secondary schools they want to apply to, which parents rank in order of preference. These are submitted to the local authority who then allocate […]

Disadvantaged pupils’ maths attainment sees England fall behind

England needs to double the number of disadvantaged pupils who achieve the top GCSE grades in maths to catch up with the best-performing countries around the world, according to new Education Policy Institute (EPI) research. Just one in 10 disadvantaged pupils in England achieve a grade 7, 8 or 9 in GCSE maths, while nearly twice […]

Universal Infant Free School Meals – what has the impact been so far?

Some parents and school leaders believe free lunches are having positive effects on the lives of infants and their families, but the costs to schools may become unsustainable unless the government keeps an eye on how much money it provides, writes Peter Sellen, who co-authored the EPI’s new report In September 2013, the previous coalition […]

Sir Michael Wilshaw joins board of Education Policy Institute

Sir Michael Wilshaw has become a trustee at Education Policy Institute (EPI) following his departure from Ofsted at the end of last year. The former chief inspector has joined the board at EPI, a think tank based in London, at which he has given talks and even spoken critically with regards their reports previously. He swells the […]