Poorer students suffering as the government’s national funding formula results in increased payments to affluent schools
Government promises to level-up funding in education have resulted in money being shifted away from schools in the most disadvantaged areas and invested in pupils in more prosperous areas of England, according to the official parliamentary spending watchdog.
A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) found average per-pupil funding in the most deprived fifth of schools fell in real terms by 1.2% between 2017-18 and 2020-21, while it increased by 2.9% in the least deprived fifth.
