2017 Pre-Budget Briefing: Education

You can read our full Pre-Budget Briefing on Education here.

Key points:

• Between 2010-11 and 2015-16 public spending on education fell by 14% in real terms

• Spending per pupil in state schools is likely to fall by 6.5% in real terms between 2016 and 2020. Meanwhile, additional money allocated to free schools, many of which are faith schools, may negatively impact on the future of female pupils and increase faith-based inequalities.

• Cuts to schools’ budgets means teachers’ salaries are likely to be squeezed. With women composing the majority of teachers (85% in primary school level and 63% of secondary level) classroom teaching is becoming a low-paid area of female employment.

• Further education is the poorest area of educational spending (10% less per pupil than in schools) and it will see a 12% cut in real terms between 2010-11 and 2019-20.

• Funding for apprenticeships will double from 2015-16 to 2019-20. However apprenticeships remain highly gender segregated with women comprising the vast majority of students in apprenticeships for low-paid professions.

• The shift in HE funding to student tuition fees and, consequently, to student loans, is currently under review. Under the current system women pay a significantly larger proportion of their income back in loan repayments than men because of the gender pay gap in graduate occupations.

• Sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools is highly gendered, with the majority of victims girls and the majority of perpetrators boys. WBG supports the recommendations of the Women and Equalities Committee that Sex and Relationship Education be made compulsory in schools and for improved training and funding for external agencies to work with schools.

You can read our full Pre-Budget Briefing on Education here.