Spending across different stages of education

This project will continue the Institute of Fiscal Studies Nuffield funded work on education spending.  

Why is this important?

Education is integral to achieving key national priorities, including raising productivity, reducing inequalities, and recovering from the pandemic. It is the second-highest element of public service spending with a cost of over £100 billion.  

With a general election due in 2024, arguments about the sufficiency of budgets across all areas of education, and a new spending review to set government spending priorities, it is crucial policy and practice is informed by trusted facts.   

What does it involve?

The research team are aiming to answer the following questions: 

1. What are the latest estimates of spending per pupil at each stage of education (early years, schools, further education (16-18 and 19+), and higher education)? 

2. How do these compare with past policy, and what are the likely future changes? 

3. How will policy announcements affect the level and distribution of education spending at each stage? 

4. What challenges do policymakers and providers face at each stage of education? 

Publicly available statistics will be combined with survey data, policy documents, and wider academic literature. Findings will be shared in annual reports. Deep dives into particular areas will be shared in the main report and standalone briefings, the topics might include: 

• university finances; 
• costs and availability for school-aged children of wrap-around care; 
• analysis of the wider early years funding landscape; 
• and the impact of removing funding for post-16 vocation and technical courses which overlap with T Levels. 

How will it make a difference?

The primary objective of the project is to inform decisions about the level and distribution of spending across stages of education. Stakeholders for the research include politicians, policymakers, education practitioners, the press, academic and policy researchers, and the public.  The research team will engage directly with stakeholders, scrutinise politicians’ claims and policy proposals, and share data to facilitate further analysis.