Distribution of spending and education

[ReallyTired]

More than half of spending in low income countries is on that countries top 10%.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-30936108

It has got me thinking that its not just low income countries which have this problem, but there is a substantial variation in the UK.

Given that a typical private school is 15K a year and in some cases the average spend on a state school child is 1K. (In the UK its very variable depending on the type of school)

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12175480

Is it right that some children (without special needs) get 15K spent on their education and other chidlren (also without special needs) get 1K. In UK state schools children with special needs are often much better provided than private schools.

Leaving aside the data, it is interesting to see how funding for state schools varies across the country. Is there any real justification for spending more than double on a child in the city of London than Bedfordshire. There is certainly plenty of deprivation in Bedfordshire. The housing in beds is not as expensive as london, but hardly dirt cheap either. Luton and dunstable have terrible social deprivation. Surely running a school in London is not as much as double the cost of running a school in Luton.

[TalkinPeace]

www.education.gov.uk/cgi-bin/schools/performance/group.pl?qtype=NAT&superview=sec&view=cfr&set=2&tab=23&no=999&sort=cfr_13.totalexpenditure&ord=asc

The budget in special schools dwarfs that in even the most selective of private schools

[DirtyBlonde]

Where is £1k the typical funding per state school pupil? I though it was more in the region of £3-5k for primary and £5-6k for secondary.

And of course the amount the state spends on pupils educated outwith the state system (HE or private) is £0.

How much parents spend on education instead of or supplementary to state provision isn't really known.

And do these sorts of comparisons really work, given that families might pick and mix their choices for education (especially if they move house at an inconvenient time)?

[smokepole]

I bet in reality the actual amount spent on education per child is not that huge between a £12-15K private school and a state school that spends £5/6K per child. The £12-15k has to pay wages the cost of running the school, bursaries extras. When you add all those together "how much of 12-15K goes on actual teaching ?.

[ReallyTired]

What makes you think that state schools don't have costs of running a school? State schools have to pay building costs, heating, electricity. There may well be help from the lea for major repairs, but schools employ their own maintaice staff.

[happygardening]

Don't state schools also have to ay staff wages out of the money they receive for each child? This is obviously their biggest cost in both sectors.
Assuming they do this is why lower staffing ratios/smaller classes exist in the independent sector.

[TalkinPeace]

happygardening is correct.
The staff / pupil ratio in state schools has to include all of the SEN and support staff that selective schools do not need.

In a fee paying selective school, that money goes into reducing class sizes something which is nice but not of proven educational benefit before the age of 13

The highest staff:pupil ratios are in fact in special schools, particularly semi secure ones where there are often more staff than pupils.

Many state schools publish their budgets online, so there is no need to speculate about where the money goes

Here is one I could find quite easily
www.hants.gov.uk/education/schools/budgetshares/files/2013/0/4149.pdf
it shows exactly how the income is built up.
THe older one
www.hants.gov.uk/education/schools/budgetshares/files/2008/0/4149.pdf
Includes how the expenditure is split.

[ReallyTired]

Secure special schools are there to provide care as much as education. Some schools which cater for profound autistic children need almost as many staff as children round the clock. They are as much care homes as schools.

Within a school there is a considerable variation in spending on different groups of children as well.

[TalkinPeace]

Indeed, and if you look at the first link - the budget share part -
there is a LOT more money for poor, low ability kids than there is for bright middle class ones