File(s) not publicly available
The reform of schools' funding: some case-study lessons
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-07, 20:54 authored by Michael BarrowSince the Education Reform Act of 1988 there has been substantial change in the funding of schools in Britain. Individual schools now have their own budgets which are determined by formula, and they have substantial freedom to spend their budgets as they wish. They are also entitled to keep any savings which they make, and these are roiled forward to the next financial year. The funding formula for a school is designed by its local education authority, subject to constraints imposed by central government. More recently a class of self-governing, or grant-maintained, schools has developed with a parallel funding system which is also formula based. A new institution, the Funding Agency for Schools, has been created to oversee the financing of these schools. In this paper, which is based on interviews with officers in six local education authorities and on documentation from several others, the author assesses these recent changes in the education 'market'. It is concluded that the market is not working well due to the complexity of the funding arrangements, the institutional arrangements, the inappropriate incentives offered, and the change in the 'atmosphere' of the education market.
History
Publication status
- Published
Journal
Environment and Planning C: Government and PolicyISSN
0263774XPublisher
PionExternal DOI
Issue
3Volume
14Page range
351-366ISBN
0265-8135Department affiliated with
- Economics Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes