SHINE and Northern Powerhouse Partnership press for fairer school funding

Education charity SHINE and the Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP) have urged the government to use the Autumn Budget 2025 to prioritise pupils facing long-term disadvantage.

Their proposal calls for savings from declining pupil numbers to be redirected towards a targeted uplift of the Pupil Premium, alongside an extension of the policy to students aged 16-18.

The representation highlights the growing crisis of long-term educational disadvantage, particularly in the North of England. Research for the NPP shows that the gap between pupils eligible for free school meals for four consecutive years and those never eligible widened further between 2019 and 2023, growing by a quarter of a grade per subject – from 1.3 to 1.56 of a grade. Nowhere is this challenge more acute than in the North East, which has the highest (and rising) proportion of pupils in this category.

The partners state: “The gap between disadvantaged school pupils in the North of England and their peers, particularly in Secondary Schools, is a huge and continuing challenge for the country. Addressing this is fundamental to closing the skills gap between the North and London.

“In the latest GCSE results, students in London and the South East were far more likely to achieve top grades than their peers in the North and Midlands. In London, 28.4% of grades awarded were at the highest levels (7–9), compared with just 17.8% in the North East.”

White British and White Irish children facing persistent disadvantage are among the worst affected, with outcomes three times lower than long-term disadvantaged pupils from some other ethnic groups. Only 19% of white working-class children achieved strong passes in English and maths GCSEs in 2024 – virtually unchanged since 2017.

This statistic is “shocking”, the partners say. “And it tells us that, year after year, swathes of potential are being lost. Four-fifths of white working-class pupils still lack the English and maths skills needed to get on in life. When society writes off these children, it is not just families and communities who pay the price – but the whole country, in lost capability, productivity, and growth.”

The submission argues: “Additional funding for persistently disadvantaged students is not only a moral imperative but also a key driver of long-term economic growth. As the Education Secretary has warned, too many young people – particularly white working-class children – are being ‘let down’, leaving four-fifths of them without the English and maths skills they need to get on in life. This represents ‘swathes of human capability and productivity lost’ – a loss our economy cannot afford.”

Reflecting recommendations from the Education Policy Institute (EPI), the consortium proposes:

• £640 million per year in targeted funding for persistently disadvantaged pupils, funded from savings due to falling pupil numbers, to reverse real terms cuts in the Pupil Premium.
• An enhanced Pupil Premium offering an extra £308 per primary and £255 per secondary persistently disadvantaged pupil.
• Clear and transparent allocation through the Pupil Premium mechanism rather than the funding formula.

With 200,000 fewer primary pupils projected by 2028/29, the Treasury could reinvest part of the expected £750 million savings to reduce inequalities instead of banking them.

The report also supports extending the Pupil Premium to post-16 education, reflecting the continued attainment gap beyond GCSE level.