Reverse the funding cut for IB schools

[Mskagwedemoos]

https://www.change.org/p/reverse-international-baccalaureate-diploma-funding-cut

The Department for Education has recently decided that it will no longer offer the large programme uplift for students in the IB diploma programme. At a time when most schools already face significant budget pressures, these cuts will increase the financial difficulties of schools seeking to provide educational choice to a diverse study body.

For more information, please see:
https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/labour-cuts-funding-for-state-school-ib-diplomas
https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/secondary/dfe-removes-funding-ib-diploma-study-state-schools
https://www.ibo.org/news/news-about-the-ib/ib-calls-on-ministers-to-reconsider-funding-decision-that-could-dismantle-successful-school-programmes-in-england/

Thank you for sharing this. It's come out of the blue and is rather poorly timed given sixth form open evenings are already happening! Round here there are three IB state schools I know of that our students travel to for sixth form so I wonder about the future of those sixth forms and what on earth they are going to say at their open evenings.

I can't see that any of the three is going to want to drop the IB and switch to A-levels, at least not because it has been forced upon them and will be require a significant investment in both time and money to get courses resourced and teachers familiar with the content. The worst case scenario would be the closure of school sixth forms that only offer IB which across the three schools I know of, amounts to 700 or so Y12 places which would need to be found in other settings.

The lack of consultation about this decision is odd and the only mention I can find of it in the curriculum review seems to suggest it's being done because there are equivalent qualifications available as A-levels or T-levels. Except there aren't because studying three A-levels doesn't offer the breadth of IB and T-levels are a different thing altogether.

This is really disappointing. I used to be a Labour Party member but have left because of their poor commitment to education. Yet another crap decision from the government on education policy! ☹️

£2000 extra per pupil puts a lot of pressure on state school education

Whilst I think it should be phased in I think it’s only right that funding for all state schools should be the same

I would rather see that extra budget spread out amongst all pupils

Funding isn't the same though and nor will it be once the IB is no longer supported. As explained on gov.uk, "The large programme uplift reflects that some programmes are larger than the usual size in terms of hours.
The large programme uplift is only available for high quality programmes that provide students with additional stretch and challenge. This includes:
- programmes of 4 or more full A levels
- the full level 3 International Baccalaureate (IB)
- T Level programmes with at least one A or AS level taken alongside
Students must achieve a minimum grade to be eligible for the uplift."

From 2026/27, the uplift will be made available to those taking four or more A-levels "which include maths, further maths and at least one more A level attracting the High Value Courses Premium – that is, biology, chemistry, computer science, design and technology, electronics, physics, or statistics."

So funding is being directed away from a qualification where every student studies maths, English, a science and a MFL to a particular type of student.

Ok I wasn’t aware of that
So atm it looks like just IBs have been targeted which isn’t right at all
but
perhaps the rest that get the uplift will be next ??

Nevertheless I think it makes the system more sustainable and fairer for all to have one budget.
Schools then can decide what they offer and every school has more money to spread about.
Not just the few.
( I now see why schools push kids to do 4 A levels so I’ve learnt something new today )

I think there are something like 157 qualifications that have been cut as a result of the review, mostly because of tiny numbers taking them (under 100 in the past few years). The redirecting of the uplift funding to 'high value courses' i.e. maths and science is new and seems to have come out of nowhere. Lots of schools struggle to recruit science teachers and very few school sixth forms (as opposed to sixth form colleges) offer electronics or statistics at A-level so in reality, the extra money is going to follow the teenagers who are intending to do medicine or engineering. It will be interesting to see if sixth forms restrict the four A-level offer to those who do maths, further maths, a 'high value' subject and something else. I suspect that's exactly what will happen and that there will be a lot of disappointed Y11s who had hoped to do four subjects, perhaps including maths, but will learn just as they sit their GCSEs that their combination is no longer available as the extra teaching time isn't funded.

I didn't know any of this about four A-levels and uplift funding until earlier this week when I looked into the IB news.