Responding to a new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published today (Thurs 16 Sept), 'Education at a Glance 2021', which recommends that governments boost investment in education to tackle inequality of opportunity, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“We agree that if the government is serious about solving inequality in this country it needs to boost education funding. Despite all the rhetoric about additional investment in schools, the fact is that per-pupil spending in real terms is lower now than it was a decade ago. The Government’s failure to invest has forced schools to cut back on staff, support for pupils, and activities that enrich the school day, all of which are needed to help solve inequality.

“That said, although it is right that schools are at the centre of efforts to narrow the gap, it would be wrong to expect schools to solve the problem on their own. The issues that underpin inequality reach far beyond the school gates and exist throughout the communities that schools serve. Cuts to local authority budgets have greatly reduced the sources of support for families on low incomes. Some of the areas where it is hardest to be socially mobile have suffered from decades of under-investment and shrinking opportunities for well-paid and highly skilled work. If we’re serious about improving equality in the UK we’ve got to look at all these factors. Schools can’t do it alone.”