News | Monday, 17th May 2021
Funding targeted at school management improves education performance, says research
Longer-term evaluation is needed to assess school improvement policies, say researchers
Funding aimed at improving school management has a positive effect on school performance in the long-term but is often only apparent long after policies have ended, according to new research.
It takes time for improvements in school management to be reflected in schools’ results meaning that, once they have ended, school improvement policies run the risk of being evaluated too soon, say researchers at Manchester Metropolitan University.
In a new study published in the journal Economics Letters, researchers analysed the UK Government’s Leadership Incentive Grant (LIG).
The LIG ran from 2003 to 2006 and provided funding to low-performing schools with the aim of improving schools’ management.
When comparing the schools that received funding to their performance data from 2003 to 2009, the study found that it took four years from the start of the policy for the performance of the schools to increase.
With funding from the LIG ending after three years, researchers say that more time should be allowed to demonstrate the effectiveness of targeted and time-limited school improvement funding policies.
Will Cook, Senior Lecturer in Economics at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “Targeted school improvement policies designed to run for a set period are often measured on their success as they come to an end. Our research shows that, where funding has been targeted at improving school management, improvements in pupil performance can be seen in the years after the policy has ended.
“These findings show the importance of ensuring school improvement programmes are given sufficient time to demonstrate their effectiveness and, as a result, many policies currently run the risk of being evaluated too soon.”
The LIG was introduced in 2003 to improve the quality of management in low performing schools in the UK.
As the government plans to deal with the impact of COVID-19, time-limited funding policies targeted at specific areas such as school management may be a vital tool in improving school and pupil performance in the long-term.
It aimed to increase pupil performance and required schools to use the funding to improve their management through training, recruitment and retention bonuses, consultancy and collaborations with successful schools.
Manchester Metropolitan researchers found that the funding had a positive effect on school performance in the years after the funding was withdrawn in 2006, but not initially.
The research estimates the size of this effect was a 9.1% increase in the amount of A*-C GCSE grades achieved at the schools that received funding.
Cook said: “Additional funding for school improvements may have a more positive impact than the commonly used threat of sanctions against underperforming schools.
“It is vital that this analysis is built into government policies at a time when many schools are dealing with the changes in pupil premium funding and are facing challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Research from the Nuffield Foundation has revealed that funding cuts for schools in poor areas of the UK will leave them badly placed to deal with the challenges of the pandemic.
A recent poll from The Sutton Trust also found that 34% of school heads are using funding they receive for the poorest pupils to cover shortfalls in their budgets.
Cook added: “As the government plans to deal with the impact of COVID-19, targeted and time-limited funding policies targeted at specific areas such as school management may be a vital tool in improving school and pupil performance in the long-term.”
