The Institute of Fiscal Studies verdict on education spending

The Institute of Fiscal Studies published an annual report on education spending on Monday 17 September 2018. The full report is worth a read but here are some of its findings and comments about our sector IFS descrbe further education as "one of the few areas of education soending to see cuts since 2010" (page 7) IFS calculate that DfE has cut spending per 16 to 18 year old student by 12% in the last seven years (page 6, between 2011-12 and 2017-18). This note explains why IFS have overestimated the 16 to 18 funding figure so the actual cut is more. technical note on IFS calculation of 16-18 funding 17 sep 2018.docx technical note on IFS calculation of 16-18 funding 17 sep 2018.docx (DOCX,52.96 KB) IFS document a 45% real-terms cut in spending on adult education and apprenticeships over a similar period (page 8, 2009-10 to 2017-18) IFS list 27 major reforms that have been introduced in further education in the last ten years. This is an underestimate. IFS explain that overall spending on education has been falling as a share of the economy since 2010 and show that the brunt of the cuts has falle on further education resulting in fewer adults in learning, short teaching hours for sixth formers and a population which is not acquiring the skills the country needs for the 2020s.