Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 19
19
Ofsted’s research also found that 44% of primary headteachers and 67% of secondary headteachers reported...
Conclusion
Ofsted’s research also found that 44% of primary headteachers and 67% of secondary headteachers reported that responses to financial pressure had led to some reductions in curriculum breadth.41 We asked the Department whether it was monitoring whether schools were dropping humanities or languages, because they did not have the staff to cover them or these subjects were too expensive to offer. The Department said that it did not want teachers to have to make financially driven decisions that reduced curriculum breadth. It told us that it kept a very close eye on this issue and monitored the number of hours taught in different subjects to identify any areas of concern. For example, it explained that hours taught in art and design and in music had held up relatively well, with a small drop between 2015–16 and 2020–21. The Department noted that there was more cause for concern about a couple of subjects – for example, the hours taught in design technology had fallen, which was something that it confirmed it would want to look into and keep an eye on.42
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
3: PAC conclusion: We are concerned that financial pressures faced by schools could damage children’s education. 3: PAC recommendation: In carrying out its research, the ESFA should collect sufficient reliable evidence on the impact of financial pressures on schools at local level, including on whether they are leading to schools narrowing their curriculum and reducing staffing. The department should set out, in its Treasury Minute response, when it plans to publish the results of ESFA’s research. 3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Target implementation date: March 2023 3.2 The department (rather than the ESFA) will commission research on how a sample of schools has experienced and responded to previous financial pressures and on the anticipated impact of the additional funding announced for schools. The sample will be broadly representative of school types (local authority-maintained; Single Academy Trusts; schools in Multi-Academy Trusts); phase (primary/secondary); proportions of disadvantaged pupils and those with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND); and area deprivation. The research is likely to be based on semi-structured interviews with school leaders and school business professionals, which will involve asking objective questions about the anticipated impact of the additional funding announced for schools and whether financial pressures have been experienced, when and in what circumstances, what the effects have been (including whether their curriculum breadth and staffing levels were affected) and how the school sought to manage the pressures. 3.3 The research will take place in schools early in the 2022-23 academic year (ie October-November 2022) with analysis and reporting completed by end-January 2023 and publication expected by end-March 2023. Starting the research earlier would carry a risk that financial pressures associated with current increases in the costs of living would be missed.