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1、 1 Jon Andrews,Shruti Khandekar,and Robbie Cruikshanks June 2024 General Election 2024 An analysis of manifesto plans for education 2 About the Education Policy Institute The Education Policy Institute is an independent,impartial,and evidence-based research institute that promotes high quality educa

2、tion outcomes,regardless of social background.We achieve this through data-led analysis,innovative research and high-profile events.Acknowledgements This report has been produced as part of a project funded by the Nuffield Foundation.The Nuffield Foundation is an independent charitable trust with a

3、mission to advance social wellbeing.It funds research that informs social policy,primarily in Education,Welfare,and Justice.It also funds student programmes that provide opportunities for young people to develop skills in quantitative and scientific methods.The Nuffield Foundation is the founder and

4、 co-funder of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and the Ada Lovelace Institute.The Foundation has funded this project,but the views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily the Foundation.Visit www.nuffieldfoundation.org About the authors Jon Andrews is Head of Analysis and Director fo

5、r School System and Performance at EPI.He has published a wide range of studies including:The performance of multi-academy trusts and local authorities,Access to special schools in England,and Grammar schools and social mobility.He worked in the Department for Education from 2003 to 2016 as a statis

6、tician.Robbie Cruikshanks joined the Education Policy Institute in March 2022.He has published work on the features of effective school groups and the impact of falling rolls on school funding.Prior to this,he worked as a sports data analyst covering professional rugby,and spent two years as a resea

7、rch consultant in the financial reporting sector,specialising in corporate governance and sustainability.Robbie graduated with an MEng in Computer Science and Philosophy from the University of York in 2019.Shruti Khandekar is a Senior Researcher focusing on Higher Education.Prior to joining EPI,Shru

8、ti examined relationships between student participation in dual enrolment and secondary and post-secondary outcomes in the United States.Similarly,she worked on the role of counselling and advising topics and educational outcomes.3 Contents Foreword.4 Executive summary.6 To what extent do the partie

9、s deliver against the challenges facing the system?.6 What is being proposed in each policy area and how does this stack up against our challenges and the research evidence?.8 Early years.16 The current landscape.16 What should a new government do?.18 What are the parties proposing?.19 Overall asses

10、sment.24 School organisation and outcomes.27 The current landscape.27 What should a new government do?.29 What are the parties proposing?.29 Overall assessment.37 Post-16 and higher education.40 The current landscape.40 What should a new government do?.43 What are the parties proposing?.43 Overall a

11、ssessment.49 School and college funding.53 The current landscape.53 What should a new government do?.55 What are the parties proposing?.55 Overall assessment.59 The education workforce.63 The current landscape.63 What should a new government do?.65 What are the parties proposing?.65 Overall assessme

12、nt.67 Annex:New analysis in this report.70 4 Foreword Natalie Perera,Chief Executive,Education Policy Institute Following the pandemics disruption and over a decade of austerity,the education system in England faces a number of challenges in the years ahead.Last summer we published the first part of

13、 our general election work in which we set out the challenges facing the education system in England and what we believed any incoming government should do to help address those challenges across the early years,school organisation and outcomes,post-16 and higher education,school and college funding

14、,and the education workforce.International comparisons show that Englands high attaining pupils are on a par with some of the highest performing countries in the world.But our biggest challenge is a long tail of low attainment that is correlated with economic disadvantage,special educational needs,a

15、nd particular ethnic groups.Our annual report,published in October,highlighted just how far we are from an equitable education system.By the time they complete secondary school,pupils from low-income backgrounds are 19 months behind their more affluent peers.Around forty per cent of this gap is evid

16、ent before children even start school.The pandemic made the situation more challenging,and its affects were felt more acutely by pupils from low-income backgrounds,but progress had stalled before then.The pandemic simply wiped out what little progress had been made.In our first report we identified

17、a range of challenges,including recruitment and retention in the early years and in schools,high levels of pupil absence,increasing prevalence of mental health issues amongst children and young people,and the financial sustainability of HE institutions.Despite these challenges,there remains a genuin

18、e risk that education will not secure the profile it requires given wider economic issues and demands on public services.Heading into the election period,the publics key issues were the economy,the NHS,inflation,and immigration.Education was in eighth,perhaps reflecting the resilience of the system

19、to keep going in the face of multiple challenges.1 In this second report we provide an independent,evidence-based assessment of the extent to which each of the main parties have committed to meeting the challenges in the system in the run up to the July 4 general election.Whilst our focus is on educ

20、ation,any government that is serious about addressing educational inequalities must also tackle the social determinants of educational outcomes.Research published during this election period has highlighted the strain that hardship is putting not only 1 Ipsos,The future of public services:navigating

21、 the storm,(May 2024)5 on the individuals concerned,but also the services,including schools,they access.2 We call again for an incoming government to put in place a credible cross-government child poverty strategy.2 Katie Schmuecker and Morgan Bestwick,The impact of hardship on primary schools and p

22、rimary and community healthcare,(June 2024)6 Executive summary The report is structured around five priority areas for education in England:The early years School organisation and outcomes Post-16 and higher education School and college funding Education workforce Each priority area includes a summa

23、ry of the challenges from our first report,including the actions we think are needed.We then go on to assess party proposals against these objectives and the extent to which they are likely to meet them.As education is a devolved issue,and the UK Parliament only has control over education in England

24、,this project considers policy implications for England only.As such we have restricted our analysis to parties seeking election for constituencies in England.General elections attract candidates from parties large and small as well as number of independent candidates.Therefore,we have had to set co

25、nditions for which parties are included.We have worked to the principle of including any party that might reasonably have a direct influence,either as a governing party or as part of an alliance,over government policy in the next parliament.We include any party which:was polling at least 10 per cent

26、 at the point of dissolution;3 or had at least one seat(in England)in Parliament at the point of dissolution,and was polling at least 5 per cent at the point of dissolution.The parties included are therefore:Conservative,Labour,Liberal Democrats,Green,and Reform.We assess policies where the party ha

27、s made a clear public statement either through a manifesto or through its official website or social media accounts.In the absence of a clear policy statement,we have assumed a continuation of existing policy.To what extent do the parties deliver against the challenges facing the system?Conservative

28、s Pledges to provide bonus payments to early career STEM teachers,along with the opening of new special free schools will go some way to helping to tackle capacity issues in the school workforce and special educational needs system though the time taken to open new special free schools mean that thi

29、s approach will not provide a quick fix.The partys commitment to reinstate plans to create a register for children not in school and to expand coverage of mental health support teams are also welcome policies in supporting vulnerable children and young people.The 3 We have used the average of polls

30、as at the 30 May 2024 on the BBC News website https:/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68079726 7 introduction of the Advanced British Standard also has the potential to provide young people with a broader post-16 offer,realigning us with other nations.However,other policies such as a statutory banning

31、 of mobile phones in schools,lifting the cap on faith school admissions and scrapping 1 in 8 degree courses are largely unnecessary distractions and would not address the most pressing challenges facing education today.Furthermore,in a period of falling pupil rolls,the Conservatives plans to protect

32、 per-pupil funding in real terms would lead to cut in the overall schools budget.Disappointingly,there are no commitments to target funding towards disadvantaged pupils in the early years or post-16 phases and no commitment to increase the Pupil Premium rates.Overall,the Conservative manifesto falls

33、 considerably short of a suite of evidence-based policies that are likely to improve outcomes and narrow the disadvantage gap.Labour Labours plans to reform accountability could be one of the most transformative commitments in its manifesto as it reflects a wealth of evidence that the current system

34、 is flawed and leading to unintended consequences.Pledges to recruit 6,500 new teachers are welcome,but there is little detail on where these teachers will come from and how they will be incentivised to join and stay in the profession.The co-location of over 3,000 new nurseries in school sites could

35、 also be a powerful lever in improving accessibility and quality of early years provision,particularly for disadvantaged children,but this policy needs to be properly funded,implemented and evaluated in order to have maximum impact.Labours commitment to adopt a child poverty strategy is also welcome

36、 and reflects EPIs long-standing recommendation.Funded breakfast clubs in primary schools and Young Futures Hubs are likely to be helpful strands in such a strategy.The glaring omission in the Labour party manifesto is a commitment to protect school funding.Similarly,there is no commitment to uprate

37、 the Pupil Premium or to better target funding in the early years and post-16 phases.Overall,the Labour party has pledged to tackle more of the key challenges in a seemingly evidence-based way.But the manifesto is thin on detail and much of the funding relies on a transfer of subsidy from the privat

38、e to state sector,which inevitably entails some risk.Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrat manifesto contains the largest number of education commitments,many of which are well-aligned with the evidence.Proposals to increase the Early Years Pupil Premium,extend the Pupil Premium to 16-19 year-olds

39、and to target early years entitlements to disadvantaged children are all welcome interventions that reflect EPI recommendations.The Liberal Democrats also make important pledges to increase mental health support for young people and to introduce a register of children not in school.However,while the

40、 manifesto does include many seemingly evidence-based commitments,it is unclear whether these are deliverable,particularly within a single Parliament,given the lack of detail.8 Greens The Green Party has proposed some of the most significant changes to the education system.This includes a substantia

41、l pledge to increase school spending,with 8bn added to school budgets and a further 2.5bn in capital expenditure to improve the school estate.In higher education,they propose scrapping university tuition fees,this would come at a cost of over 10bn and mean a system where funding was less targeted at

42、 those that need it most.They also propose the ending of“high stakes”tests in primary and secondary schools which would mean the end of comparable school performance tables and also the abolition of Ofsted.This runs against evidence of the role of public accountability in raising standards.So,this c

43、ould lead to a fall in standards overall and a widening of the disadvantage gap.Overall,the proposals in the Green Party manifesto are the most radical,but the costs involved are very significant,and some features run counter to research evidence.Reform The education related commitments from Reform

44、are somewhat limited in nature.Their proposals to restrict childrens use of smartphones and social media reflect the relationship seen with issues with young peoples mental health.Substantial changes to student finance to extend the repayment period for student loans and eliminate interest would be

45、both regressive and come at a greater cost to the exchequer.Overall,the Reform manifesto does not address the challenges in the education system today in any substantial way.What is being proposed in each policy area and how does this stack up against our challenges and the research evidence?The ear

46、ly years Across all manifestos,there is a concerning lack of engagement with some of the key issues relating to early childhood education and care.While the Conservative Party has continued with its pledge to extend funded childcare entitlements to 30 hours per week,it has not provided any detail on

47、 how it will ensure providers will be able to deliver the capacity for this extension,nor how it will improve accessibility for disadvantaged families.The Labour Party has also committed to this level of entitlement,as well as identifying the challenges of capacity and availability but,beyond its ke

48、y proposal of opening 3,000 nurseries in schools,has offered little detail on how to address them.The Green Party has committed to extending funded childcare entitlements to 35 hours per week,but has not directly addressed issues of capacity and availability.Similarly,the Liberal Democrats proposed

49、review of rates paid to providers is an acknowledgement of the tension between funded entitlements and financial pressures on providers but does not represent clear policy at this stage.No party has made commitments relating to addressing the levels of funding for SEND pupils.However,the Liberal Dem

50、ocrat proposal to increase the early years pupil premium,reflecting our 9 recommendation to weight additional funding towards disadvantaged pupils,is a positive step towards creating a more equitable early years funding system.Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have adopted approaches in line wit

51、h our call for an early years strategy,but there has been little reflection from the parties on the issues of recruitment and retention.Despite this absence of detail however,both parties have acknowledged the need for a high-quality workforce and have made this central to the future development of

52、their early years career strategies.The Conservative Party has pledged to continue rolling out Family Hubs across England,in line with our earlier recommendation,but the party has not been clear on how it will ensure these additional hubs receive sufficient funding to realise the benefits that such

53、services can provide to children and families.The Green Party has committed to a more ambitious plan,in line with our recommendation to strengthen the Family Hub model to a level of service and investment as seen during the Sure Start programme,pledging 1.4bn a year for local authorities to invest i

54、n Sure Start centres.No other parties have addressed integrated family services in any detail.Significant issues in the sector have been scarcely discussed and,in some cases,neglected entirely.This is particularly disappointing given the protective effect high-quality early years education can provi

55、de to disadvantaged children,and the real opportunity to address the inequalities we see in later education by sustained and targeted investment in the early years.School organisation and outcomes There are many components of party proposals that align with the approaches we identified to tackle som

56、e of the key challenges in our education system though no party alone appears to be addressing them all.Reforming the accountability system,and in particular Ofsted,is a key component of both the Labour and the Liberal Democrat manifestos.The move away from single word judgements to report card styl

57、e approaches is consistent with EPI recommendations for the government to introduce new performance measures that mitigate some of the perverse incentives in the current system.Similarly,Labours proposal to bring multi-academy trusts into the remit of inspection reflects the structure of the school

58、system in 2024 and the role that trusts play in school finance,curriculum,and workforce.There has also been a welcome focus on supporting children and young people with their mental health,with both Labour and the Liberal Democrats pledging to introduce a mental health professional into every school

59、.What is less clear is the exact form that this will take,and how it interacts with mental health support team provision currently being rolled out.There are also very welcome commitments from the Conservatives,Labour,and the Liberal Democrats for various forms of a register of pupils not being educ

60、ated in schools.This was a key recommendation from our first report.10 Curriculum reform did not feature as part of our immediate priorities for an incoming government.Firstly,because we considered that there were already more pressing concerns,and secondly that there had been a number of changes in

61、 recent years that schools had only just adapted to.However,we recognise that by the end of the next parliament it would have been fifteen years since the last review and therefore the proposals from both the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats are understandable.Beyond the Liberal Democrats Tuit

62、ion Guarantee,the manifestos offered little that was particularly targeted at tackling the disadvantage gap but reforms to the curriculum may be one way in which we see a move to a system that works better for all pupils.Furthermore,the Conservatives,Labour,and the Liberal Democrats all make pledges

63、 to varying degrees to improve access to extra-curricular activities such as sports and music opportunities that young people from low-income backgrounds are currently less likely to take up.Unlike previous elections,there appears to be little appetite from the main parties for fast paced structural

64、 reform in terms of rapid expansion of the academies programme or a return to local authority-maintained schools,this is welcome and supported by evidence that structural reform has little or no effect on pupil outcomes.The Conservatives maintain a desire for schools to be in strong academy trusts t

65、hough set no timescale by which this should be achieved.As we set out previously,it is important that the sector continues to build its understanding of what effective school groups do.Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats appear to have no plans to row back the academised system but do commit to a

66、stronger role for local authorities in admissions,place planning,and special educational needs.This is something we called for in our first report and will be particularly important during a period of falling pupil rolls.The Green Party is alone in wanting to move academies back under local authorit

67、y control.Of pressing concern is the lack of urgency and detail about how the parties would support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.While there are some commitments across Labour,the Liberal Democrats,and the Conservative party including the establishment of a SEND body,greate

68、r support and expertise in mainstream schools,and new specialist provision,no single party addresses the challenges of the SEND system holistically,and all would require significantly more detail.Post-16 and higher education There has been a significant focus on increasing participation in technical

69、 and vocational education,falling apprenticeship starts,and employer investment in training.Policies on skills have emphasised the importance of lifelong learning and harnessing higher level technical education in order to up-and re-skill the economy.There has been little attention paid by parties t

70、o the disadvantage gap amongst 16-19 year olds,with the exception of the Liberal Democrats who have proposed a Young Peoples premium.This reflects one of EPIs key recommendations.The Conservatives plans to implement the Advanced British Standard(ABS)is a welcome strategy in broadening the 16-19 curr

71、iculum and increasing the offering of maths and English until age 18.11 Given the demonstrated benefits of a wider curriculum,this policy will benefit disadvantaged students who are more likely to narrow their choices after GCSEs.Extending maths and English will align the UK with other leading globa

72、l economies and address the falling literacy and numeracy rates amongst 18-year-olds.To guarantee the success of the ABS,there will need to be significant changes to the workforce and more detail on whether students will have flexibility to study at different levels.The Liberal Democrats have also o

73、ffered a review of the post-16 qualifications.Labour has offered to conduct a curriculum review but did not specifically address the narrowing of post-16 choices nor how to improve basic skills amongst young people.Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have proposed strengthening careers advice to a

74、ddress the increasing NEET rates amongst 1624-year-olds.The Conservatives have not offered new plans on careers advice.Parties have offered various plans to reform apprenticeships.The Conservatives have proposed to increasing apprenticeship starts and to fund this by cutting higher education courses

75、,while Labour and the Liberal Democrats have proposed increasing the flexibility of the apprenticeship levy so it can be used more widely for skills and training.Increasing flexibility however is unlikely to reverse the trend of falling starts.Labour and the Conservatives have committed relatively l

76、ittle to addressing issues in higher education.The Conservatives plan to reduce the provision of higher education by cutting poorly performing courses.With respect to tuition fees,the Conservatives plan to continue the 2022-23 student finance regime,despite the increased burden on lower-and middle-i

77、ncome graduates,while Labour has committed to making the system more progressive it has not offered any further details as to how this would be achieved.Neither party has addressed the instability of higher education budgets nor the overreliance on international students as a funding source.The Libe

78、ral Democrats have proposed removing international students from long-term migration numbers.While the Green Party have proposed abolishing student fees and reintroducing maintenance grants,the substantial price tag of the policies means that it is unlikely to be a priority for the next government w

79、ith other areas of the economy requiring significant investment.Beyond potential changes to student finance,neither Labour nor the Conservatives have offered detailed plans on widening participation despite the fact that the gap in progression rate to higher education has widened to the highest reco

80、rded level.4 While the Green Party would reintroduce maintenance grants and the Liberal Democrats will work to widen participation,partly through greater transparency in selection criteria,the lack of plans from Labour and the Conservatives to support disadvantaged students amidst a cost-of-living c

81、risis is a notable omission.Additionally,4 Department for Education,Widening participation in higher education,(July 2023)12 little had been said about contextual admissions despite evidence that they widen participation without adversely affecting attainment or dropout.5 Parties have increasingly f

82、ocused on technical and vocational education in efforts to up-and re-skill the economy.The Conservatives and Labour have indicated that they will continue with the Lifelong Learning Entitlement if elected,while the Liberal Democrats have said they would provide every adult with 5,000 for lifelong ed

83、ucation and training.Labour would also establish Skills England and introduce a set of coordinated policies that will support local skills development.Assuming successful implementation,these policies are likely to increase take up of higher technical qualifications.Comparatively little has been sai

84、d on increasing the take up of level 2 and level 3 qualifications amongst adults.School and college funding The wider situation of government finances,and a position from the main parties not to increase some of the main tax rates has resulted in an offering that is exceedingly limited and does not

85、address the challenges that schools and colleges are facing.While the education budget has been protected in recent years,relative to other areas of government expenditure,per pupil funding for schools is still 4 per cent lower than it was in 2010 if we account for the inflationary pressures in scho

86、ols.The situation in further education colleges has been significantly worse.Both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives have commitments that are based on per pupil funding to schools(to protect in the case of the Conservatives and to increase above inflation for the Liberal Democrats).Given t

87、he expected fall in pupil rolls over the course of the next parliament,these commitments are at best modest.Simply holding total school funding flat in real terms would deliver a pledge to increase per pupil funding,and cutting it by over 3bn could still deliver a promise to protect per pupil fundin

88、g.Labour has made no commitment at all on school funding,either per pupil or overall,beyond specific policy linked commitments such teacher training and development and teacher recruitment.In all cases it makes the overall funding package for schools very unclear.The commitments to funding for sixth

89、 forms and further education colleges(as opposed to specific policy interventions in the phase)are even more limited,with no commitment from the Conservative Party or Labour.The Liberal Democrats pledge to increase per student funding in real terms,but there is nothing to suggest that this will be o

90、f the scale needed to reverse long-term cuts.However,the Liberal Democrat proposal to introduce a post-16 student premium is very welcome and consistent with what we said was needed to help address both participating and attainment gaps in this phase.Beyond this pledge none of the parties have made

91、specific commitments to changes to how revenue funding is allocated,or to the value of the pupil premium.If,as expected,the funding settlement for schools and colleges remains tight,then any government should seriously consider 5 Vikki Boliver,Claire Crawford,Mandy Powell,and Will Craige,Admissions

92、in Context,(Sutton Trust,October 2017)13 how revenue funding is better targeted to ensure it reaches the pupils and students that need it most.These are difficult trade-offs but necessary in the current spending climate.Within this context,there are clear arguments that funding breakfast clubs and t

93、he expansion of free school meals to those just above existing eligibility thresholds is likely to lead to improvements in attendance and wellbeing.However,further expansion of free school meals to other pupils,at a time of limited funding,would be misguided and could be better targeted at where it

94、is needed most.Commitments to capital expenditure to address the condition of the school and college estate are also limited.The Department for Education has consistently spent less than it had deemed was necessary to address the most urgent of building repairs.Only the Liberal Democrats and the Gre

95、en Party have made any commitment to address this need,though these would still appear to fall short of the levels that are really required.The final,but most pressing concern,is that of high needs funding,for pupils with acute special educational needs.Commitments from the main parties are again li

96、mited,or do not set out what they will achieve and how they will do it.Whoever forms the next government must review funding for special educational need including how funding is allocated.The high needs budget should be grounded in the level of need across the population and the true cost of provis

97、ion to address those needs.The current system does neither and therefore creates substantial financial instability.In addition,the government must take action to increase capacity within state-funded special schools and address the high cost associated with private provision to reduce the cost of pr

98、oviding places.Schools,local authorities,and some of our most vulnerable children are at risk if the current situation is not addressed.Education workforce Despite issues of teacher pay,recruitment,and teacher-pupil ratios all appearing in headlines over the past two years,this election has not seen

99、 the scale of these challenges meaningfully addressed in party manifestos.The most notable omission across the manifestos are significant commitments on teacher pay.No party has pledged to improve pay rates for teachers or support staff and address the real terms pay cut that the profession has seen

100、 over the last decade,particularly for senior staff and further education teachers.Stronger commitments on pay are required to ensure teaching remains competitive in both schools and colleges.With teacher recruitment consistently lagging behind government targets,it is also disappointing to see litt

101、le detail on how new staff will be recruited into the profession.The Labour manifesto is the only manifesto to contain a concrete figure on teacher recruitment,although partys target of 6,500 remains well short of both the recent targets and the number of staff required to ensure all pupils are taug

102、ht by qualified teachers,let alone specialist subject teachers.The Conservative Party,while not committing to a figure,has pledged to attract more teachers by offering 30,000 in tax-free bonuses over a five year period for new teachers in key subjects.This is a welcome commitment,as these incentives

103、 are likely to bring about short-term gains in early career teacher 14 recruitment and make teaching a more attractive profession for younger workers and new entrants.However,it does not address the range of issues around longer-term retention beyond the five-year bonus period,nor the retention of o

104、lder,more experienced staff currently in the profession.Another issue of key importance to the health and sustainability of the workforce is addressing teacher wellbeing.Teachers frequently cite workload and working conditions as major concerns,but no party has made clear commitments on how these is

105、sues will be alleviated for staff.No party has touched upon bolstering mental health support for school staff.A package of policies to ease the working lives of teachers in this way would not only make the profession more attractive to new entrants and graduates but assist with retention in the long

106、er term.On a positive note,both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have identified the requirement for high-quality continuing professional development to increase the quality of the workforce and the level of qualification of teachers,both of which have knock-on effects on pupil outcomes.Labours offe

107、ring of 270m for CPD for teachers and headteachers through a Teacher Training Entitlement is a good step towards creating more meaningful improvements in teacher quality.The additional focus on headteachers is particularly notable,as recent EPI research has found that effective headteachers can redu

108、ce teacher turnover and staff absenteeism in secondary schools,as well as providing benefits up to three months of learning for pupils under effective leadership.6 The Liberal Democrats,while less clear on their commitment,have also recognised the value of high-quality CPD and pledged to introduce a

109、 funded CPD programme,including training on parental engagement.While these CPD policies are ultimately positive,more ambitious strategies from the parties could have further benefits,namely the addressing the shortage of specialist staff.Well-funded,high-quality CPD can effectively retrain and upsk

110、ill staff to fill shortages as a complement to graduate recruitment.6 James Zuccollo,Joana Cardi Dias,Eva Jimnez,and Nils Braakmann,The influence of headteachers on their schools,(Education Policy Institute,October 2023)15 Early years 16 Early years The current landscape High quality early childhood

111、 education and care(ECEC)has the potential to improve childrens educational and wider outcomes in the short and longer-term,7 including educational attainment,wellbeing,and socio-emotional skills8 and help close the disadvantage gap around 40 per cent of which is already evident by age 5.The funding

112、 system for the early years is both complex and insufficient and offers little support to families with the youngest children.The 2023 Spring Budget announced an extension of 30 hours of funded childcare,for 38 weeks of the year,to working parents of children aged 9 months to 2 years,but this will n

113、ot address the issue of lack of accessibility of ECEC for the poorest children whose parents are not in work and may even reduce accessibility if disadvantaged children are crowded-out or providers are forced out of business.Childcare can be a significant proportion of family budgets,particularly fo

114、r those with the youngest children.For a couple with two children aged 2 and 3,net costs represent 25 per cent of their average wage,almost double that of the OECD average,as seen in Figure 1.1.9 Figure 1.1:The cost of childcare in the UK compared with other OECD countries 7 Elizabeth Cascio,The pro

115、mises and pitfalls of universal early education,IZA World of Labor(January 2015)8 Edward Melhuish and Julian Gardiner,Study of Early Education and Development(SEED):Impact Study on Early Education Use and Child Outcomes up to age seven years,(November 2021);Patricia Eadie,Jane Page,Penny Levickis,Ca

116、triona Elek,Lisa Murray,Lucas Wang and Catherine Lloyd-Johnsen.Domains of quality in early childhood education and care:A scoping review of the extent and consistency of the literature,Educational Review(June 2022)9 OECD,OECD.Stat:Benefits,Taxes and Wages Net childcare costs for parents using childc

117、are facilities,(2022)17 Ultimately,these funding pressures risk squeezing out disadvantaged children from ECEC and potentially disincentivising work for middle-income families.There has been a sizeable shift in early years spending away from the tax and welfare system towards the funded entitlement.

118、This growth in funded hours has been popular with some parents but has put pressure on providers,while disproportionately benefiting those higher up the income distribution.10 Whilst early education has the potential to benefit those from disadvantaged backgrounds the most,existing use is highest am

119、ongst better off families.11,12 Funding pressures on providers have knock-on implications for access,with low-income children and those with additional needs most at risk of being crowded-out.Children with special educational needs and disabilities(SEND)are markedly underserved,with many failing to

120、be provided with a place.13 Only 18 per cent of local authorities in England have sufficient pre-school provision for disabled children.14 The early years workforce faces issues with recruitment and retention.While research suggests early years education needs to be of high quality to have a strong

121、impact on longer-term outcomes,challenges with recruitment and retention of staff risk this quality being compromised,particularly in more disadvantaged areas.Just 8.6 per cent of the early years workforce have accredited graduate status(early years teacher status or qualified teacher status),despit

122、e evidence that direct contact with graduate staff has a positive impact on young childrens outcomes.15 Meanwhile,expansions of early years entitlements have placed further demand on an already over-extended workforce,with estimates that around 27,500 further early years professionals will need to b

123、e recruited by 2028 to meet demand.This represents an 8 per cent expansion of the workforce in a sector that has lost 3 per cent of the total workforce since 2019,with over 70 per cent of local authorities reporting that ECEC settings are finding it very difficult to recruit qualified and experience

124、d staff.16 These challenges seem to be more acute in private,voluntary and independent(PVI)settings than in school-based settings,with reasons for high turnover including low pay,unfavourable working conditions and unrealistic staff expectations of the role.17 High turnover is undesirable because it

125、 impacts stability and quality of relationships between educators/carers and children,and adds to pressures within settings(for example,because new staff have to recruited and trained).The 2023 Spring Budget recognised the problem of declining childminder numbers,announcing financial incentives aime

126、d at reversing this trend,though the extent to which these incentives are sufficient to improve recruitment to the sector has been questioned,and they do little to address retention.While higher pay is likely to help improve workforce sustainability,it will not address 10 Christine Farquharson,Rober

127、t Joyce and Tom Waters,Early years and childcare in England:Public spending,private costs,and the challenges ahead,(March 2023)11 Family and Childcare Trust,Tackling barriers to access in early education,(December 2023)12 Department for Education,Written evidence submitted by the Department for Educ

128、ation CEY1714(to the Education Committee inquiry on Support for Childcare and the Early Years),(March 2023)13 Kitty Stewart and Mary Reader,The Conservatives record on early childhood:policies,spending and outcomes from May 2015 to pre-COVID 2020,(December 2020);Childrens Commissioner,Vision for chi

129、ldcare,(October 2022)14 Megan Jarvie,Lisa Kunwar Deer,Sam Shorto and Emma Goddard,Childcare Survey 2023(March 2023)15 Sara Bonetti and Jo Blanden,Early years workforce qualifications and childrens outcomes,(December 2020)16 Jones et al.,How many early years professionals do we need?Estimating the re

130、quirement by 2028,(September 2023)17 Department for Education,The early years workforce:recruitment,retention,and business planning,(April 2022)18 challenges around continuing professional development and career progression.And despite the vital importance of early educators in mitigating the disadv

131、antage gap that emerges even before children start school,many do not have the same status as other workforces,including teachers.18 Amidst all these challenges,the benefits of ECEC are not being realised.In England,the roll-out of the original 15-hour universal entitlement led to only small improve

132、ments in recorded development at age 5,with no apparent benefits by age 11.19 It has also had a relatively small impact on parents working decisions,unlike the point at which children start school which does significantly increase labour force participation.20 This limited impact on either child dev

133、elopment or parental employment might seem disappointing,but evidence suggests early and sustained targeted funding yields larger positive effects on educational and later-life outcomes,strengthening the case for a more comprehensive package of targeted funding at the early years.21 Given that the c

134、urrent roll-out to 30 hours and roll-down to 9 months is also predicated to serve largely as a subsidy for those who would already have used childcare to support work,this situation seems likely to continue.22 At a time when child poverty remains high and families are struggling with the cost of liv

135、ing,this direct support for families may still be a worthwhile policy objective in its own right.However,it does not directly address the unmet need of children with SEND,nor the childcare deserts experienced in some areas,nor the tendency of families in more deprived areas and with lower incomes to

136、 be less likely to be aware of and to access their entitlements.Crucially,it does not concentrate on ensuring quality provision focused on childrens experiences and development.Without a clear strategy for the early years,there is a lack of clarity as to the purpose of early education and care,the r

137、elative priorities of different policies stretching across children and parents and any trade-offs between them.What should a new government do?Simplify early years funding so it is easier for parents and carers to navigate,lessening bureaucratic barriers and the administrative burden for families.A

138、n incoming government should work towards providing a single point of access for parents and carers to be able to ascertain all their entitlements to funding for early education and care.Development of this policy should be based on user-journey informed research to ensure accessibility for all pare

139、nts and carers,particularly those with lower participation such as disadvantaged families.18 Jo Hutchinson,John Dunford and Mike Treadaway,Divergent pathways:the disadvantage gap,accountability and the pupil premium,(July 2016)19 Jo Blanden,Emilia Del Bono,Sandra McNally and Birgitta Rabe,Universal

140、Preschool Education:The Case of Public Funding with Private Provision,The Economic Journal,Volume 126,Issue 592,(May 2016)20 Mike Brewer,Sarah Cattan,Claire Crawford and Birgitta Rabe,Does more free childcare help parents work more?,Labour Economics,Volume 74,(January 2022)21 Jackson,C.K.,&Mackevici

141、us,C.The Distribution of School Spending Impacts.NBER Working Paper No.28517.National Bureau of Economic Research.(February 2021)22 Christine Farquharson,What you need to know about the new childcare entitlements,Institute for Fiscal Studies,(March 2024)19 Weight early years funding much more heavil

142、y towards children from low-income families and children with SEND by increasing the early years pupil premium to be commensurate with the pupil premium in later school years,increasing the disability access fund(DAF)to reflect the costs of quality education and care for children with disabilities,a

143、nd simplifying access to the DAF.Entitlement to the DAF should not be restricted(as it is presently)to only children in receipt of disability living allowance(DLA),as not all children with disabilities in the early years are in receipt of DLA.23,24 The Family Hub model should be strengthened or retu

144、rned to the original Sure Start model to ensure a family-focussed and integrated system of care,education and wider holistic support for young children and their parents/carers.Recent research has suggested the original Sure Start model produced positive effects on educational outcomes,particularly

145、for disadvantaged children,for modest returns on cost.25 Research also indicated improved health outcomes for children as a result of Sure Start,and that inequality in early education and care attendance was reduced in areas with more Sure Start provision.26,27 Roll-out should be rigorously evaluate

146、d to ensure government continues to learn about what does and does not work,with an eye both to immediate and longer-term learnings,and to accumulating lessons on past good practice and long-term impacts,which continue to emerge.28 A new government should publish an early years strategy which should

147、 set out plans to:improve accessibility for disadvantaged children in particular;create a sustainable model for providers while also affordable for families;and provide a clear strategy for ensuring a high-quality workforce.What are the parties proposing?Funding for the early years The Conservative

148、Party has maintained its commitment announced in the 2023 Spring Budget to extend the current eligibility of funded childcare from 15 hours to 30 hours per week for working parents with children between 9 months and two years old.The Green Party has committed to a further extension up to 35 hours pe

149、r week.While these extensions are welcome news to many parents,they provide no benefit to many of the poorest children whose parents are less likely to be in work.Additionally,without plans to increase the capacity of providers and the recruitment and retention of the early years workforce,the polic

150、y risks crowding out disadvantaged families and placing further financial pressures on providers.23 Department for Education,Sources of income for early years providers,(September 2018)24 Contact,Its time to bust some myths about DLA!,(February 2023)25 Carneiro,Cattan,and Ridpath,The short-and mediu

151、m-term impacts of Sure Start on educational outcomes,Institute for Fiscal Studies,(April 2024)26 Sarah Cattan Gabriella Conti Christine Farquharson Rita Ginja Maud Pecher,The health impacts of Sure Start,(Institute for Fiscal Studies,August 2021)27 Tammy Campbell,Ludovica Gambaro,and Kitty Stewart,U

152、niversal early education:Who benefits?Patterns in take-up of the entitlement to free early education among three-year-olds in England,British Educational Research Journal,(June 2018)28 The Health Foundation,Sure Start:a model for long-term policymaking?-with Naomi Eisenstadt and Donna Molloy,(May 20

153、24)20 The Liberal Democrats have pledged to increase the early years pupil premium to almost triple its current level,raising it from 353 to 1,000 per year.This increase would cost approximately an additional 74.3m beyond existing spend on the early years pupil premium,based on the current number of

154、 eligible children.However,the early years pupil premium is likely underclaimed in comparison to the pupil premium in primary and secondary schools,making this figure a possible underestimate.Any expansion should also come with a focus on increasing enrolment,either through auto-enrolment at the fam

155、ily level or directly funding settings based on the number of eligible pupils.Alongside this funding increase,disadvantaged children aged three and four will also be entitled an additional five free hours of childcare a week under Liberal Democrat plans.Taken together,this would benefit the most dis

156、advantaged families in accessing early years education and more effectively weight early years funding towards children in poverty.This change would assist with progress to close the early years disadvantage gap by increasing funding for disadvantaged children in the early years to a level more comp

157、arable with the pupil premium in primary and secondary schools.However,without also increasing the capacity of providers and the recruitment and retention of the workforce,these additional entitlements may struggle to be realised in practice.The Liberal Democrats also state their ambition,when the p

158、ublic finances allow,to extend the additional five free hours of childcare to disadvantaged two-year-olds as a step towards universal entitlements for all two-to four-year-olds.The Liberal Democrats have also committed to launch a review into the rates paid to providers of funded childcare hours to

159、ensure costs are fully covered by entitlement payments.This kind of review could have a positive impact by identifying disparities in access and provision across the country and addressing the sustainability of the entitlement model,but without a focus on the barriers facing disadvantaged families i

160、t may not provide clear insight into how the model can be improved to help close the early years disadvantage gap.The Party has also committed to introducing a toddler top-up,an enhanced rate of child benefit for one-year-olds,but has not provided any further detail on how much this rate will be enh

161、anced.Early years workforce The Labour Party has committed to honouring the current government policy to expand the funded childcare entitlement from 15 to 30 hours per week but acknowledge that doing so will require greater workforce capacity.They propose to work with the sector to ensure professio

162、nals are provided with opportunities for high-quality training and recognised for their work,but there is currently limited detail of how this would be achieved.The Liberal Democrats have proposed to simplify the registration process for childminders to remove barriers to joining the profession.The

163、current registration requirements mean most childminders and out-of-school provisions are required to register on both the Early Years Register(EYR)and Compulsory Childcare Register(CCR),while other specific providers may choose to register on the Voluntary Childcare Register(VCR).The party has pled

164、ged to replace this fragmented landscape with a single childcare register,alongside commissioning a practitioner-led review into simplifying administrative burdens on providers and attracting new,high-quality childminders.This acknowledgement of childminding as a complement to PVI-sector and school-

165、21 based provision is welcome,but there is little evidence to suggest how effective reducing registration requirements would be in attracting additional childminders.While the proposed review may not immediately address issues with workforce supply and retention,it can contribute to the evidence bas

166、e of how childcare professionals can be attracted and supported to work.The Liberal Democrats have also committed to developing a career strategy for early years staff,including a training programme with the majority of those working with children aged two to four to have a relevant early years qual

167、ification or be working towards one.The acknowledgement of the need for a qualified workforce is positive given evidence on the link between direct contact with graduate staff and positive outcomes for young children,29 but no further detail is provided on how this strategy will be developed in prac

168、tice.The Liberal Democrats have also pledged to include a specific emphasis on identifying and supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities in training for early years staff.The importance of early identification of SEND in children has long been recognised,as noted in the SEN

169、D Code of Practice;30 and delaying identification at the early years can compound challenges for children through escalation of unmet needs.On the other hand,misidentification of SEND also presents similar risks,with the added consequence of putting further strain of the level of provision available

170、 to children requiring additional support.While a greater focus on early SEND identification is welcome,we begin from a low baseline in terms of staff qualifications,and already struggling with recruitment and retention,so this is a large undertaking especially given the mixed market of providers.Wi

171、thout a clear strategy to bolster the workforce and address the issues leading many to leave the profession,this policy may not be achievable.Quality of provision The Conservative Party has said it plans to expand its Family Hub programme to deliver a hub in every local authority,aimed at providing

172、a one-stop shop of joined-up family support including health services,parenting support,and childcare.The continued roll-out of the Family Hub model was a recommendation we put forward in our first report.Since the announcement of the policy in the 2021 Spring Budget,75 of the 152 local authorities

173、in England have seen a Family Hub set up,albeit in some cases these hubs are not physical locations.Research has shown that integrating family services in deprived areas in this way can make a material difference to childrens outcomes,but the impact of those services is highly dependent on receiving

174、 adequate funding.31 Currently the Family Hub system receives just 100m a year compared with the 300m a year in the first year,the Sure Start programme,which had positive effects on educational outcomes,29 Sara Bonetti and Jo Blanden,Early years workforce qualifications and childrens outcomes,(Decem

175、ber 2020)30 Department for Education and Department of Health,Special educational needs and disability code of practice:0 to 25 years,(January 2015)31 Pedro Carneiro,Sarah Cattan,and Nick Ridpath,The short-and medium-term impacts of Sure Start on educational outcomes,(Institute for Fiscal,April 2024

176、)22 particularly for disadvantaged children.32 Furthermore,Family Hubs have a much wider age remit than Sure Start,which focused on children under five.While the expansion of Family Hubs is a positive step towards providing integrated family support services across the whole of England,the model mus

177、t be funded with further investment to fully realise the potential improvements to educational outcomes that these services can provide,with this investment targeted first in the most disadvantaged areas.Additionally,the size of some local authorities combined with poor public transport,especially i

178、n rural areas,means even if a Family Hub is established in every local authority,many families may still have difficulties in accessing services.The Conservative Party has made no pledges on what the level of investment in Family Hubs will be under their proposed expansion,or on further plans to imp

179、rove the accessibility of the model.The Green Party has proposed to invest 1.4bn per year for local authorities to spend on Sure Start centres.This mirrors our recommendation to strengthen integrated parent services(through strengthening the Family Hub model or restoring the Sure Start system).The l

180、evel of investment proposed by the party would be over half of the spending on Sure Start at its peak(2.5bn per year)and would likely be sufficient to realise similar positive effects on outcomes.32 However,the Green Party has provided no further detail on the practicalities of this policy,such as h

181、ow the transition back to Sure Start from existing Family Hubs would be implemented,or if any changes from the original Sure Start model would be implemented given the materially different ECEC landscape in 2024.The Labour Party has pledged to create over 3,000 new school-based nursery classrooms ba

182、sed in primary schools,aiming to utilise spare capacity in primary schools due to falling pupil numbers.The party claims this will create 100,000 new childcare places,funded by its policy to levy VAT on independent schools.This policy is a positive move towards tackling the shortage of affordable hi

183、gh-quality ECEC,in areas currently underserved by provision,while having the additional benefit of capitalising on the opportunity presented by the decline in primary school pupils.However,it is not clear how the party will ensure these new provisions are staffed by high-quality early years professi

184、onals given the declining size of the early years workforce.Labour has made no specific commitments on building the capacity of the early years workforce.Other policies In the 2024 Spring Budget,the Conservative Party announced changes to the high-income child benefit charge,a tapered tax on child b

185、enefit claimed if a parent earns over a certain income.Previously,this income threshold was set at 50,000,tapering up to a 100 per cent charge on child benefit claimed for incomes over 60,000.As of April 2024,the threshold was raised to 60,000,tapering up to the 100 per cent charge over 80,000,and t

186、he rate at which the charge was applied was halved.While this change was a positive step towards making the ECEC fairer and more accessible to medium-and high-income families,it provided no support to the most disadvantaged families and remains unnecessarily favourable towards families with more eve

187、nly 32 Pedro Carneiro,Sarah Cattan,and Nick Ridpath,The short-and medium-term impacts of Sure Start on educational outcomes,(Institute for Fiscal,April 2024)23 split incomes rather than single-earner households.The Conservatives have said they would move to a household based system so that families

188、do not lose child benefit until their combined income reaches 120,000.The Labour Party has committed to a pilot expansion of a childrens number a digital identification number that links a childs record across education,the health service,social care and wider services to reduce barriers that famili

189、es face when accessing services and prevent children from falling through the gaps.This is a welcome step towards a centralised data service that allows for the better monitoring and oversight of managed moves between schools,moves into home schooling,and the phenomenon of unexplained exits,where ch

190、ildren become unaccounted for in the education system.It may also help make more visible the experiences of hidden children,including those in care and insecure living situations,and enable better child protection.However,is it not yet clear which individuals and institutions would be responsible fo

191、r the data and provided access to it,and for what purposes.The Liberal Democrats have committed to a range of reforms to parental leave entitlements with the aim of assisting working parents in managing the crucial early stages of their childs development.This includes making all parental pay and le

192、ave day-one rights(currently workers are entitled to 18 weeks of parental leave after a year at their workplace),extending this right to self-employed workers,doubling the Statutory Maternity and Shared Parental Pay entitlements to 350 per week,and introducing an additional use-it-or-lose-it month o

193、f parental leave for fathers and partners,paid at 90 per cent of earnings.The Liberal Democrats state their ambition-when the public finances allow-is to give all families six weeks of use-it-or-lose-it leave paid at 90 per cent of earnings,and 46 weeks of parental leave to share between partners as

194、 they wish,paid at double the current statutory rate.Extending parental leave to six weeks has been recommended by the Chartered Institute of Professional Development33 and is linked with smaller gender wage gaps and smaller labour force participation gaps.34 The party has also pledged to require la

195、rge employers to publish their parental leave and pay policies.The Labour Party has also said it will review the parental leave system so that it better supports working families,but provide no further detail on what this review will entail.The Liberal Democrats have also pledged to review and refor

196、m the Child Maintenance Service,an entitlement paid to cover a childs living costs when one of the parents does not live with the child.This is an important piece of a future strategy to tackle child poverty across England,and the findings of such a review should be seriously considered by any incom

197、ing government.The Liberal Democrats have also pledged to elevate the Minister for Children to being a cabinet position.This represents a signalling of the importance of children and families in cross-government policymaking and would be a welcome machinery of government change.33 CIPD,Employer Focu

198、s on Working Parents,(August 2022)34 Rosie Fogden,Tanya Singh,Taisiya Merkulova,Joeli Brearley,Lauren Fabianski and Ben Franklin,Leave in the lurch:Paternity leave,gender equality and the UK economy,(Centre for Progressive Policy,June 2023)24 The Liberal Democrats have also committed to providing fr

199、ee access to sign language lessons for the parents and guardians of deaf children.Deaf children were on average 8.8 months of learning behind their classmates who did not have any special needs,by age seven in 2019.35 This policy does represent a major step forward in making education more accessibl

200、e for deaf children,as early access to sign language plays a major role in developing language skills and preventing language deprivation.36,37 While this further support is welcome,a future government should look to develop a holistic strategy to meet the full range of needs of deaf children,and th

201、e scope of additional funding and services required to tackle the deaf attainment gap,which has remained largely static since 2015.Overall assessment Across all manifestos,there is a concerning lack of engagement with some of the key issues relating to early childhood education and care.While the Co

202、nservative Party has continued with its pledge to extend funded childcare entitlements to 30 hours per week,it has not provided any detail on how it will ensure providers will be able to deliver the capacity for this extension,nor how it will improve accessibility for disadvantaged families.The Labo

203、ur Party has also committed to this level of entitlement,as well as identifying the challenges of capacity and availability but,beyond its key proposal of opening 3,000 nurseries in schools,has offered little detail on how to address them.The Green Party has committed to extending funded childcare e

204、ntitlements to 35 hours per week,but has not directly addressed issues of capacity and availability.Similarly,the Liberal Democrats proposed review of rates paid to providers is an acknowledgement of the tension between funded entitlements and financial pressures on providers but does not represent

205、clear policy at this stage.No party has made commitments relating to addressing the levels of funding for SEND pupils.However,the Liberal Democrat proposal to increase the early years pupil premium,reflecting our recommendation to weight additional funding towards disadvantaged pupils,is a positive

206、step towards creating a more equitable early years funding system.Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have adopted approaches in line with our call for an early years strategy,but there has been little reflection from the parties on the issues of recruitment and retention.Despite this absence of d

207、etail however,both parties have acknowledged the need for a high-quality workforce and have made this central to the future development of their early years career strategies.The Conservative Party has pledged to continue rolling out Family Hubs across England,in line with our earlier recommendation

208、,but the party has not been clear on how it will ensure these 35 Jo Hutchinson,The educational outcomes of deaf children in England,(Education Policy Institute and NCDS,March 2023)36 Kate Rowley and Dani Sive,Preventing language deprivation,(BATOD,November 2021)37 Annalene Van Staden,Gerhard Badenho

209、rst,and Elaine Ridge.The Benefits of Sign Language for Deaf Learners with Language Challenges,Per Linguam,(2011)25 additional hubs receive sufficient funding to realise the benefits that such services can provide to children and families.The Green Party has committed to a more ambitious plan,in line

210、 with our recommendation to strengthen the Family Hub model to a level of service and investment as seen during the Sure Start programme,pledging 1.4bn a year for local authorities to invest in Sure Start centres.No other parties have addressed integrated family services in any detail.Significant is

211、sues in the sector have been scarcely discussed and,in some cases,neglected entirely.This is particularly disappointing given the protective effect high-quality early years education can provide to disadvantaged children,and the real opportunity to address the inequalities we see in later education

212、by sustained and targeted investment in the early years.26 School organisation and outcomes 27 School organisation and outcomes The current landscape Pupils in England perform well across all the major international benchmarking assessments that measure performance in years 5,9 and 11.In the most re

213、cent Progress in International Reading Literacy Study(PIRLS)for year 5 pupils,England was placed fourth overall,behind only Russia,Hong Kong and Singapore(though comparisons with other countries were complicated by the pandemic which affected the point at which countries took the test.)38 But there

214、are wide disparities in pupil outcomes that worsened over the course of the pandemic.The difference in outcomes between pupils from low-income backgrounds and their peers is currently equivalent to around 19 months of learning by the time they sit their GCSEs,although progress in closing the gap had

215、 already stalled before the pandemic hit.39 The effects of the pandemic continue to be felt in pupil outcomes.The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in reading,writing and mathematics at the end of primary school in 2023 was 60 per cent,still 5 percentage points from the last pre-p

216、andemic assessments in 2019.40 There are also disparities in provision for those with special educational needs and disabilities,the most significant factor in whether a given child is recorded as having SEND is the primary school they attend.41 Two thirds of the total variation is accounted for not

217、 by any individual facts about a child but by which school they attend.Individual child-level factors that influence SEND identification include deprivation and there is some evidence of the rationing of SEND support to relatively less deprived children living within more deprived areas.Children who

218、 are more absent from school or have moved schools are less likely to be identified with SEND than otherwise similar children.Mental health issues amongst children and young people had been gradually increasing over the two decades leading up to the pandemic.42 In 2017,around 1 in 8 children aged 8-

219、16 had a probable mental health disorder,this increased to 1 in 5 by 2023.43 Referrals to NHS mental health services for young people increased by 80 per cent through the pandemic.44 Amongst young people,gender is the key axis of inequality:around a third of females aged 17 to 19 have a probable con

220、ditions,compared with a sixth of males.42Error!Bookmark not defined.The pandemic was also associated with a large increase in pupil absence.In the autumn term of 2022/23,the overall absence rate was 7.5 per cent.45 While this fell to 6.7 per cent the following year,it remained well above the 4.9 per

221、 cent in autumn 2019/20.Persistent absence-defined as 38 Ariel Lindorff,Jamie Stiff,and Heather Kayton,PIRLS 2021:National Report for England,(May 2023)39 Emily Hunt et al,EPI Annual Report 2023,(October 2023)40 Department for Education,Key stage 2 attainment:academic year 2022/23,(December 2023)41

222、Jo Hutchinson,Identifying pupils with special educational needs and disabilities,(March 2021)42 NHS Digital,Mental health of children and young people in England,2017,(November 2018)43 NHS England,Mental health of children and young people in England,2023 wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey,(Novembe

223、r 2023)44 Hannah Chu-Han Huang and Dennis Ougrin,Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child and adolescent mental health services,(September 2021)45 Department for Education,Pupil absence in schools in England:autumn term 2023/24,(May 2024)28 when a pupil misses at least 10 per cent of possible sessio

224、ns increased from 13.1 per cent of all pupils to 24.2 per cent before falling to 19.4 per cent over the same period.There is also no consistent data on children who are home educated and government plans to introduce a statutory register have been postponed.It is now 14 years since the start of the

225、rapid expansion of the academies programme.Over half of state-funded schools are academies or free schools with the majority in multi-academy trusts.46 Though academisation is changing how schools are operating,multiple studies have found either limited or no effects of academisation on pupil attain

226、ment at a system level.47 Academisation is also strongly associated with lower chances of being identified with SEND during primary school,all else being equal.48 The next parliament will cover a period of falling rolls in Englands schools.The Department for Education estimates that the pupil popula

227、tion will fall by 626,000 by the end of the decade,returning pupil numbers to a similar level to that seen prior to the post-millennium population bulge.49 The number of primary aged pupils is already in decline and the number of pupils in secondary schools is expected to peak this year.As school fu

228、nding is largely driven by pupil numbers,a fall in a schools roll is typically associated with a fall in its funding while its costs do not necessarily fall in the same way.Substantial falls in pupil intakes can result in a school no longer being financially viable.These population effects are not c

229、onsistent,with one in seven local authorities expecting increases in the primary aged population by 2027/28.50 Around one fifth of schools in England are currently operating at or over capacity.Pupil place planning remains the responsibility of local authorities,but they have no statutory levers to

230、direct academies to adjust admissions numbers.51 The school system in England is underpinned by a system of accountability using Ofsted inspections and the publication of performance data for individual schools.International evidence suggests that school accountability which allows the direct compar

231、ison of schools has a positive impact on pupil outcomes,with standardised testing achieving better results than localised or subjective information.52 But current performance measures and inspection outcomes are closely linked with pupil demographics.Schools with low levels of disadvantage and high

232、prior attainment are more likely to receive positive judgements from Ofsted or have high Progress 8 scores.53,54 Accountability also risks creating perverse incentives,including narrowing curriculum 46 Department for Education,Open academies,free schools,studio schools and UTCs,(May 2024)47 Jon Andr

233、ews and Natalie Perera,The Impact of Academies on Educational Outcomes,(July 2017)48 Jo Hutchinson,Identifying pupils with special educational needs and disabilities,Education Policy Institute,(March 2021)49 Department for Education,National pupil projections:reporting year 2023,(October 2023)50 Dep

234、artment for Education,School capacity:academic year 2022/23,(March 2024)51 London Councils,Managing surplus school places,(January 2023)52 Annika B.Bergbauer,Eric Hanushek,Ludger Woessmann,Testing with accountability improves student achievement,(September 2018)53 Jo Hutchinson,School inspection in

235、England:is there room to improve?,(November 2017)54 Kate Beynon and Dave Thomson,Contextualising Progress 8,(May 2024)29 choices,55 reducing the inclusiveness of admissions practices,and removing pupils from school rolls.56 The death of headteacher Ruth Perry in January last year also brought into s

236、harp focus the impact that the current inspection system can have on teacher wellbeing and workload.57 What should a new government do?Tackle the widening gap in pupil outcomes,particularly amongst those from vulnerable groups,through a renewed focus on the disadvantage gap;addressing absence in a w

237、ay that reflects its range of causes,providing greater support to children with additional needs;and reinstating the commitment to a register of home educated pupils.Set clear expectations and resourcing of local authorities including in pupil place planning,SEND provision,and managed moves,giving t

238、hem powers where necessary.Recognise that wholesale structural reform is likely to have limited impact on outcomes in and of itself but there is an ongoing need to understand the evidence on what makes an effective school group and how best practice can be spread across the system.Establish and addr

239、ess drivers of mental ill health amongst children and young people.Continue the focus on providing mental health support through schools and ensuring there is access to provision across the country.Evaluate the impact of mental health support teams and explore a consistent approach to measuring well

240、being across schools.This could be used to identify groups of pupils who need additional support and to measure the impact of interventions but should not be part of the school accountability framework.Reform the current accountability framework including the role of Ofsted and its gradings,to ensur

241、e that it is not delivering perverse incentives such as curriculum narrowing or unnecessary workload and operates in a way that supports school improvement and inclusion across all types of school.What are the parties proposing?Accountability Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats would replace singl

242、e word Ofsted judgements with report cards underpinned by a suite of metrics.The Conservative commitment for Ofsted to provide“clear judgements to parents”is taken to mean that the current grading system would remain.Attempts have been made in the past to provide a broader picture of school performa

243、nce.Firstly the school profile was introduced by the Education Act 2005.58 Subsequently the then Labour government developed and consulted on the introduction of a school report card which would include measures of pupil progress,attainment,wellbeing,attainment gaps,and pupil and parent 55 National

244、Foundation for Educational Research,What impact does accountability have on curriculum,standards and engagement in education?A literature review,(September 2018)56 Whitney Crenna-Jennings and Jo Hutchinson,Unexplained school transfers and managed moves,(March 2024)57 Ofsted,Ofsted responds to preven

245、tion of future deaths report,(January 2024)58 Education Act 2005,Part 4,Maintained Schools,Section 104 30 perceptions.59 This was proposed to be introduced from 2011 but was not implemented by the Coalition Government of 2010-2015.EPI has advocated for a broader set of measures in a report card styl

246、e approach as it should mitigate against some of the perverse incentives that currently exist in the system.EPI has already published measures at school group level,which could serve as a blueprint for any government seeking to broaden performance measures.60 Where schools are underperforming,Labour

247、 propose regional improvement teams,to work as partners with schools in responding to areas of weakness identified in the new report cards.Both the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party propose reforming the current central measures of school performance by including additional subjects to broaden

248、the curriculum offer to secondary aged pupils.For the Liberal Democrats this means changing the EBacc measure to include an arts subject.Under the current definition,the EBacc comprises English(literature and language),mathematics,the sciences(combined or triple),a humanities subject,and an ancient

249、or modern foreign language,therefore not incentivising schools to enter pupils in arts subjects.The percentage of pupils entered for all EBacc subjects has been around 40 per cent for several years having initially increased rapidly.61 The current limiting factor is entries to modern foreign languag

250、es,the vast majority of pupils who have entered four of the five EBacc subjects are missing this pillar.Schools that already perform poorly on the language pillar may therefore not be incentivised by the addition of an arts subject.Labour would instead change Attainment 8 and Progress 8 to include a

251、t least one creative or vocational subject.Unlike the EBacc,both Attainment 8 and Progress 8 already allow for the inclusion of a broader range of subjects if schools offer them.62 The effect of this change would be to penalise schools that do not offer these subjects(and hence encourage them to bro

252、aden provision)but it would also reduce the flexibility that schools and pupils have in choosing subjects studied.The Labour Party would also bring multi-academy trusts into the remit of inspection.Ofsted can currently only inspect individual schools,though they are also able to carry out“summary ev

253、aluations”of trusts where they collect evidence about the trusts work through inspecting a sample of their academies with a further site visit to the trust central team.63 However,this does not result in an inspection grade for the trust as a whole.Moving towards inspections of trusts reflects their

254、 increasing importance in the running of schools.Decisions around financial management,workforce deployment,and curriculum choices are now often taken at trust level.64 No other parties are taking this approach.59 Department for Children Schools and Families and Ofsted,A school report card:prospectu

255、s,(June 2009)60 Louis Hodge,Robbie Cruikshanks,Jon Andrews,and Oana Gavriloiu,The features of effective school groups,(April 2024)61 Department for Education,Key Stage 4 performance 2023(revised),(February 2024)62 The eight components of Attainment 8 and Progress 8 comprise:English,mathematics,three

256、 highest scoring other EBacc subjects,and then three further subjects(including remaining EBacc subjects if they are the highest scoring).63 Ofsted,Summary evaluations of multi-academy trusts,(March 2023)64 Louis Hodge,Robbie Cruikshanks,Jon Andrews,and Oana Gavriloiu,The Features of Effective Schoo

257、l Groups,(April 2024)31 The Liberal Democrats propose a new parental engagement strategy which would include requiring schools to provide accessible information to parents on what their children are learning.Schools are already required to report a range of information to parents65,and increased par

258、ental engagement has the potential to increase attainment.66 However,particular attention needs to be given to children from low-income backgrounds as differential rates of parental engagement would risk further widening existing disadvantage gaps.Parents of children with SEND also face greater barr

259、iers to engagement.67 As part of their review of the curriculum,the Labour Party would consider assessment methods,though say that they would continue to recognise the role of examinations.The Green party would end formal testing in both primary and secondary schools.The removal of formalised testin

260、g would risk introducing biased assessments by gender,ethnicity,special educational needs,and socio-economic factors.68 It would also mean the end of primary school performance tables in their current form.International evidence suggests that school accountability which allows for the direct compari

261、sons of schools has a positive impact on pupil outcomes,with standardised testing achieving better results than localised or subjective information.69 In Wales,the abolition of performance tables led to a reduction in school effectiveness which was particularly marked at the lower end of the perform

262、ance distribution.70 Curriculum and qualifications Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have committed to a review of the curriculum.Labour would aim to achieve a broader curriculum with access to sport and the arts,a focus on oracy and digital skills alongside a core of numeracy and literacy in ad

263、dition to a focus on early numeracy and language development in primary schools.The Liberal Democrats would initiate a commission to“build a long-term consensus on the curriculum”.The Green Party would review assessment targets to give parity to the arts and vocational subjects.They would also promo

264、te a greater understanding of the natural world.The Reform Party want to make the curriculum“more patriotic”with regular audits of content in social history to“ensure balance”,though it is unclear who would be responsible for such audits.While commitments remain fairly high level,this is not unreaso

265、nable in the case of Labour and the Liberal Democrats as these relate to medium to long-term reviews.Similarly,a review of the curriculum was not one of our own immediate priorities but by the end of the next parliament it will have been fifteen years since the last review.A review of the curriculum

266、 and assessment must include how it works for all children and in particular those with special educational needs and 65 Department for Education and Standards and Testing Agency,School reports on pupil performance:guide for headteachers,(March 2014)66 Education Endowment Foundation,Teaching and lea

267、rning toolkit parental engagement,(July 2021)67 Parentkind,Parent voice report 2022,(December 2022)68 Tammy Campbell,Stereotyped at Seven?Biases in Teacher Judgement of Pupils Ability and Attainment,(July 2015)69 Annika B.Bergbauer,Eric Hanushek,Ludger Woessmann,Testing with accountability improves

268、student achievement,(September 2018)70 Simon Burgess et al,A natural experiment in school accountability:the impact of school performance information on pupil progress and sorting,(October 2013)32 disabilities.It must be informed by evidence,experts,and practitioners and not framed so as to prioriti

269、se one approach over another.The Conservative Party would continue with“tried and tested techniques”including phonics and their preferred approach to maths.The Conservatives identify the benefits of enrichment beyond school through the continuation of music hubs and the Liberal Democrats would also

270、expand extracurricular activities including a new entitlement for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.Labour plan to launch a new National Music Education network with information on courses and classes.Pupils from low-income backgrounds are currently less likely to attend sports club or use sport

271、 facilities outside of lesson time,and are similarly less likely to attend clubs and societies for hobbies,arts,or music.71 Attending such clubs is associated with positive later outcomes in education and employment.Pupil and student outcomes The Liberal Democrats have proposed a Tutoring Guarantee

272、for disadvantaged pupils who need further support.One-to-one and small group tuition can be highly effective in supporting learning and targeting support towards disadvantaged pupils in particular may help close attainment gaps.72 However,there is no detail in the Liberal Democrat manifesto about th

273、e form that the guarantee will take in terms of number or type of sessions,which subjects will be available,whether they will be delivered by existing teachers in the school or bought in services,and whether it comes with additional funding or a need to be met from existing school budgets.The Conser

274、vative Party would mandate for two hours of PE every week in primary and secondary schools.Ofsted report that most primary schools are already delivering this and,half of secondary schools offer two hours of PE in both key stage 3 and key stage 4.73 Though the amount of timetabled time allocated to

275、PE reduces significantly in key stage 4.The Conservative Party would support this through an extension of the PE and sport premium to secondary schools,which is currently funded at a rate of 16,000 per school with an additional payment of 10 per pupil.If the premium was funded on the same basis for

276、secondary schools it would cost 86m.If instead it was funded at a similar per pupil rate(around 82 per eligible pupil)this would cost 260m.74 The Conservative Party has costed this,and funding school games organisers,at 125m.We assume that the Conservative Party are assuming funding secondary school

277、s on the same basis as in primary schools,with a much lower per pupil allocation.Pupil absence Labour,the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party are proposing that breakfast clubs should be offered in all primary schools as a mechanism to tackle the effects of the cost of living and improve 71 David

278、Robinson,Access to Extra-Curricular Provision and the Association with Outcomes,(Education Policy Institute,February 2024)72 Education Endowment Foundation,Teaching and learning toolkit 73 Ofsted,Levelling the playing field:the physical education subject report,(September 2023)74 See Annex for detai

279、ls of this estimate.33 attendance.Labour would also aim to bring down the cost of school uniform and equipment by limiting the number of branded items a school can require.Over two thirds of primary schools currently offer subsidised breakfasts.75 An evaluation of breakfast club provision in 2019 fo

280、und positive effects on attendance and behaviour amongst primary aged children,though the effects on attainment were more mixed with no effect for older pupils in the study(year 6).76 Given the high proportion of schools that are already offering provision of some kind,the effects of universal roll

281、out may be limited.The Liberal Democrats also say that they will tackle the issue of persistent absence by setting up a register of those not in school and tackling the underlying barriers to attendance.The Conservative Party have also said that they will legislate to create a register of children n

282、ot in school.The register was part of the Schools Bill which was abandoned by government in 2022 and the draft legislation was not brought before parliament again.The Labour Party has committed to a pilot expansion of a childrens number;a digital identification number that links a childs record acro

283、ss education,the health service,social care and wider services to reduce barriers that families face when accessing services and prevent children from falling through the gaps.SEND and pupil wellbeing The Conservatives say they would deliver 60,000 more school places and 15 new free schools for chil

284、dren with special educational needs,while the Green Party focus on provision in mainstream schools with 5bn of investment in special educational needs.Offering additional provision via new schools is likely to mean considerable time before those places are available,often taking many years between a

285、pplication and opening.7778 Labour would take a“community wide approach”by supporting provision in both special and mainstream schools though no further detail is given beyond improving expertise in mainstream schools.EPI has previously proposed a national framework of support for pupils with SEND i

286、n mainstream schools.79 The Liberal Democrats commit to provide additional funding to local authorities to pay towards the cost of each pupils EHCP,but the amount offered or how that is determined is not clear.They also propose a national body for SEND to fund support,but again the level of funding

287、or the role of the body,such as whether it is a central procurement function,is not set out.Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats would offer a mental health worker in every school alongside wider community support,while the Green Party would give pupils at state-funded schools access to a qualified

288、 counsellor and an on-site medical professional.None of the parties are currently clear on the exact type of the professional they are proposing.75 Megan Lucas and Jenna Julius,The ongoing impact of cost-of-living crisis on schools,(National Foundation for Educational Research,June 2024)76 Claire Cr

289、awford,Amy Edwards,Christine Farquharson,Ellen Greaves,Grace Trevelyan,Emma Wallace,and Clarissa White,Magic Breakfast,(November 2016)77 Samantha Booth,Promised special free schools fail to open,Schools Week,26September,2022.78 The Observer,“Its an absolute mess”:building work seriously delayed on 3

290、3 new special schools in England,(March 2024)79 Jo Hutchinson,Identifying pupils with special educational needs and disabilities,(March 2021)34 Mental Health Support Teams(MHSTs)currently cover a third of schools(40 per cent of pupils),and are expected to reach half of all pupils by 2025.Evaluation

291、of the programme is ongoing and so its impact is as yet unclear.The policy has though been criticised throughout the sector for its slow rollout.The proposal of a mental health professional in every school could possibly be rolled into this existing policy,but questions remain about the roles of eac

292、h and how they would work together.One professional per school likely means more individual focus on the children who need it,but a team of different professionals fulfils multiple necessary roles.There are also questions also about how quickly the new policy could be rolled out given workforce cons

293、traints.Regardless of how interventions are rolled out,there must be a focus on the drivers of worsening mental health.This means looking beyond the healthcare system,and healthcare interventions delivered in and out of schools,at what the education system and wider factors such as child poverty are

294、 contributing to young peoples worsening mental health.As part of their reforms to accountability,the Labour Party is proposing annual checks on safeguarding,attendance and off-rolling though they need to set out how this will operate in practice and how it relates and interacts with other aspects o

295、f the accountability system.The current high-stakes nature of inspection can have the unintended consequence of incentivising people to hide issues rather than acknowledge them and seek help.The nature of safeguarding risks is constantly evolving,and all schools require regular training and feedback

296、.Reform UK say that there should be child friendly app restricted smart phones for pupils under the age of 16 and the Conservative Party say that they will require schools to follow current guidance and ban use during the school day.Current government guidance is for school leaders to“develop and im

297、plement a policy to prohibit the use of mobile phones and other similar devices which reflects their schools individual contexts and needs.”Survey data suggests that nearly two thirds of secondary schools have rules meaning that teachers should never see phones,and less than 1 per cent of schools wo

298、uld allow pupils to use phones whenever they liked.80 Reform UK would also launch an inquiry into social media harms.Heavy use of social media is shown to negatively affect girls wellbeing and self-esteem at ages 14 and 17,regardless of pre-existing levels.It also negatively affects boys wellbeing a

299、t age 14,also regardless of their previous state of mental health.81 Whilst relationship and sex education is not an issue that we have identified as one of the major challenges facing the school system ahead of the election,it is one that has nevertheless featured across party manifestos,stemming f

300、rom the Ofsted review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges.82 The Liberal Democrats say that they would tackle bullying in schools by promoting pastoral leadership in schools and delivering high-quality relationships and sex education and the 80 Teacher Tapp,Phone policies,side hustles,rote learn

301、ing and pride,(February 2024)81 Whitney Crenna-Jennings,Young peoples mental and emotional health,(Education Policy Institute,January 2021)82 Ofsted,Review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges,(June 2021)35 Green Party commit to an age-appropriate programme of relationships,sex,and health educati

302、on.The Conservative Party would legislate so that parents had a right to see what was being taught in schools as well as going further on previously published Sex Health Education Guidance.Reform would also inform parents of under 16s about their childrens life decisions,insist on single sex facilit

303、ies,and ban social transitioning.While it is important that young people have access to high quality pastoral care and relationships and sex education,there are difficult issues around the content and age at which such issues should be taught.These sensitive matters should be informed by the experti

304、se of the medical profession and safeguarding experts to best support the short and long-term outcomes of young people.36 Structural reform Both the Labour Party and the Green Party have committed to ending the VAT exemption on independent school fees.Analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies e

305、stimates such a change would raise around 1.3-1.5bn each year after accounting for changes in demand and public spending need.83 The same analysis suggests that the effect of imposing VAT on independent school fees would be for between 3 and 7 per cent of independent school pupils to move into the s

306、tate sector,equivalent to between 20,000 and 40,000 pupils.It is difficult to model the exact effects of such movements on school admissions and ultimately class sizes,but at a system level these moves in isolation would represent a very small increase in the state-school population of between 0.3 a

307、nd 0.5 per cent.Furthermore,as shown in Figure 1.2,fluctuations of this scale are not unusual in the state-sector.Taken with the expected fall in pupil numbers over the coming parliament,the move of pupils into the state-sector is unlikely to represent a significant challenge to the system as a whol

308、e,though local challenges are possible.Figure 1.2:Year on year changes in the total number of pupils in the state-funded school system actual(solid line)and projected(dotted line).84 The Liberal Democrats directly address the functions and funding of local authorities in education with a commitment

309、to give them both the resources(though not clear what this means in practice)and powers for local authorities to manage place planning,in year admissions,and provision for special educational needs for all schools within the local authority.Labour make a similar pledge 83 Luke Sibieta,Tax,private sc

310、hool fees and state school spending,(Institute for Fiscal Studies,July 2023)84 Authors calculations based on Department for Education,National pupil projections:reporting year 2023,(October 2023).See Annex for further details of this calculation.Primary pupilsSecondary pupils-120,000-100,000-80,000-

311、60,000-40,000-20,0000+20,000+40,000+60,000+80,000+100,000+120,000 37 requiring all schools to co-operate with the local authority on admissions,special educational needs and place planning.The Green Party would move academies into local authority control but,beyond this,no other party is committing

312、to substantial changes to school organisation either reversing academisation,or accelerating it further.The Conservative Party will expand strong academy trusts which is a continuation of current government policy of expecting schools to join academy trusts but not mandating them to do so,other than

313、 in the case of an inadequate Ofsted rating.85 Avoiding wholesale reform to school structures either with further rapid expansion of academies or reverting all schools back to local authorities is consistent with evidence that finds no relationship between such changes and improved pupil outcomes.86

314、 In May 2024,the government launched a consultation to make two changes to faith school provision in England.87 The first was to remove the 50 per cent cap on faith admissions that applies to faith free schools as they claimed this acted as a barrier to some faith groups opening schools,this has bee

315、n included in the Conservative manifesto.The second was to allow new special academies and existing special academies to be designated as having a religious character.Faith schools tend to be less representative of their local area in terms of the proportion of disadvantaged pupils,88 and the number

316、 of children with special educational needs and disabilities than other schools,89 while their attainment outcomes are on average no different from other schools once you take pupil demographics into account.90 Therefore,an expansion in the number of faith schools is unlikely to raise attainment ove

317、rall,but may increase social segregation.The Conservative Party say they will“preserve the rights of independent and grammar schools”.The intent here is not clear,but any expansion in the number of grammar school places either through the opening of new selective schools,or the expansion of existing

318、 schools is likely to have negative effects on the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.91 Overall assessment There are many components of party proposals that align with the approaches we identified to tackle some of the key challenges in our education system though no party alone appears to be addre

319、ssing them all.Reforming the accountability system,and in particular Ofsted,is a key component of both the Labour and the Liberal Democrat manifestos.The move away from single word judgements to report card style approaches is consistent with EPI recommendations for the government to 85 Department f

320、or Education,What are academy schools and what is“forced academisation”?,(May 2023)86 Jon Andrews and Natalie Perera,The Impact of Academies on Educational Outcomes,(Education Policy Institute,July 2017)87 Department for Education,Faith school designation reforms,(May 2024)88 National Foundation for

321、 Educational Research,Selective comprehensives 2024,(January 2024)89 Tammy Campbell,Serving their communities?The under-admission of children with disabilities and special educational needs to faith primary schools in England,Oxford Review of Education,(October 2023)90 Jon Andrews and Rebecca Johnes

322、,Faith schools,pupil performance,and social selection,(Education Policy Institute,December 2016)91 Jon Andrews et al,Grammar schools and social mobility,(Education Policy Institute,September 2016)38 introduce new performance measures that mitigate some of the perverse incentives in the current syste

323、m.Similarly,Labours proposal to bring multi-academy trusts into the remit of inspection reflects the structure of the school system in 2024 and the role that trusts play in school finance,curriculum,and workforce.There has also been a welcome focus on supporting children and young people with their

324、mental health,with both Labour and the Liberal Democrats pledging to introduce a mental health professional into every school.What is less clear is the exact form that this will take,and how it interacts with mental health support team provision currently being rolled out.There are also very welcome

325、 commitments from the Conservatives,Labour,and the Liberal Democrats for various forms of a register of pupils not being educated in schools.This was a key recommendation from our first report.Curriculum reform did not feature as part of our immediate priorities for an incoming government.Firstly,be

326、cause we considered that there were already more pressing concerns,and secondly that there had been a number of changes in recent years that schools had only just adapted to.However,we recognise that by the end of the next parliament it would have been fifteen years since the last review and therefo

327、re the proposals from both the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats are understandable.Beyond the Liberal Democrats Tuition Guarantee,the manifestos offered little that was particularly targeted at tackling the disadvantage gap but reforms to the curriculum may be one way in which we see a move to

328、 a system that works better for all pupils.Furthermore,the Conservatives,Labour,and the Liberal Democrats all make pledges to varying degrees to improve access to extra-curricular activities such as sports and music opportunities that young people from low-income backgrounds are currently less likel

329、y to take up.Unlike previous elections,there appears to be little appetite from the main parties for fast paced structural reform in terms of rapid expansion of the academies programme or a return to local authority-maintained schools,this is welcome and supported by evidence that structural reform

330、has little or no effect on pupil outcomes.The Conservatives maintain a desire for schools to be in strong academy trusts though set no timescale by which this should be achieved.As we set out previously,it is important that the sector continues to build its understanding of what effective school gro

331、ups do.Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats appear to have no plans to row back the academised system but do commit to a stronger role for local authorities in admissions,place planning,and special educational needs.This is something we called for in our first report and will be particularly import

332、ant during a period of falling pupil rolls.The Green Party is alone in wanting to move academies back under local authority control.Of pressing concern is the lack of urgency and detail about how the parties would support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.While there are some co

333、mmitments across Labour,the Liberal Democrats,and the Conservative party including the establishment of a SEND body,greater support and expertise in mainstream schools,and new specialist provision,no single party addresses the challenges of the SEND system holistically,and all would require significantly more detail.39 Post-16 and higher education 40 Post-16 and higher education The current landsc