Government funding to boost education for children in disadvantaged areas
Fiona Simpson
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
The government has revealed further details of funding aimed at “levelling-up” opportunities for families in the most disadvantaged areas.
As part of last week’s (11 May) Queen’s Speech it was announced that post-16 education and training would be “central” to England’s pandemic recovery while it reiterated the importance of improving opportunities in the most disadvantaged areas.
The Skills and Post-16 Education Bill was published by the government on Tuesday (18 May) alongside details of three funding programmes to boost education for young people in the most deprived areas:
Post-16 Capacity Fund
The Department for Education has announced a new £83m Post-16 Capacity Fund for 2021/22 to “ensure that post-16 providers can accommodate the expected demographic increase in 16 to 19-year-olds”.
Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics show an increase in applicants to further and higher education alongside a record drop in employment for 16- to 24-year-olds due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to documents published by the DfE, the core objectives of the post-16 capacity fund are:
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To provide additional capacity in 16-19 providers, where there is due to be a demographic increase in learners and there is not enough existing capacity to accommodate that increase.
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To ensure that this additional provision meets local and national skills requirements and is reflective of learner demand.
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To do so in the most efficient and sustainable way possible, to ensure value for money for government investment, and to support UK targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
Providers are able to bid for grants from the fund providing they are classed as a further education college, sixth form college, an academy or a so-called designated institution.
The deadline for applications is 14 June and successful applicants are set to be notified over the summer. Projects must be completed by 31 August 2022, according to the DfE.
For more information on the Post-16 Capacity Fund click here.
Extension of Opportunity Area Funding
The Department for Education has announced a fifth year of funding for the Opportunities Area Programme to the tune of £18m.
The programme is aimed at tackling barriers facing vulnerable families living in the most disadvantaged areas by improving school standards, attendance, teaching quality and recruitment, careers training and advice, literacy and maths skills.
The 2021/22 programme will target 12 Opportunity Areas across the country, which will be ‘twinned’ with previous areas that have faced similar challenges:
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Blackpool will be twinned with with Lancashire to reduce levels of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) and will receive £2m
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Bradford will be twinned with Knowsley to support school improvement with funding of £1.3m
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Derby will be twinned with locations in Derbyshire, Nottingham, and Nottinghamshire to support young people at risk of becoming NEET and will receive £1.2.
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Doncaster will be twinned with Sheffield City Region to improve careers hubs with funding of £1.3m
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Fenland and East Cambridgeshire is twinning with Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, Kings Lynn, and West Norfolk to support social, emotional and mental health needs and workforce development with £1.1m.
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Hastings will receive £1.1m to improve attainment in maths for Key Stage 2 pupils.
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Ipswich will be twinned with Felixstowe, part of Suffolk local authority, to support wellbeing, resilience, and Key Stage 2-3 transition with £1.2m.
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Norwich is twinning with Breckland and Great Yarmouth, part of Norfolk local authority, to support early years speech and language, and inclusion with £1.4m.
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North Yorkshire coast will be matched with Bridlington, part of East Riding County Council, to support behaviour and inclusion with £884,000.
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Oldham will be twinned with Tameside Council to support digital learning development and will receive £1.3m.
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Stoke-on-Trent will receive £1.3m to boost its “Ay Up Duck” community inclusion project.
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West Somerset will be twinning with Mendip/Glastonbury and Frome, in Somerset, and Weymouth and Portland, in Dorset, to support careers and early years with £869,700.
The remaining £2.5m will be used for additional twinning work and evaluation of the programme, the DfE has said.
For more details of the Opportunities Area Programme click here.
Fund to improve teaching quality
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also announced a £10m fund to improve the quality of teaching across four local authorities which the government says have “lower than average numbers of pupils in 'good' or 'outstanding' schools”.
The four areas are Plymouth, Ashfield and Mansfield, South Sefton and North Liverpool, and North Durham and City.
“They will also be encouraged to join multi-academy trusts so pupils can benefit from being part of a strong group of schools that provide the best possible education,” Johnson said.