Education Investment Area

In England, Education Investment Areas (EIAs) are educationally underperforming areas prioritised for extra funding[1] and support by the British government, with the intention of improving standards.[2][3] They were introduced in 2022 as part of the levelling-up policy of the British government. There are currently 55 Education Investment Areas;[4] 24 of these have been designated as Priority Education Investment Areas, sharing an additional fund of £40 million.[5]

A map of all designated Education Investment Areas as of February 2022

Characteristics

Alongside further government support and funding, Education Investment Areas benefit from a number of perks. Their local authorities are to be given £30 million over a three-year period to fund opportunities and care for children with special needs.[6] Retainage will be enforced on successful teachers in a bid to keep them teaching important school subjects. The areas will also be preferred for the establishment of sixth form specialist schools with free school status.[7] Underperforming schools in Education Investment Areas (153 schools in February 2022) will be brought under the control of successful multi-academy trusts.[8]

From September 2022, Education Investment Areas will be at the forefront of the government's plan to have all schools become academies by 2030. The government is expected to cooperate with dioceses, academy trusts and local authorities with the intention of encouraging further academisation in these areas. Each area will also have a plan for developing multi-academy trusts which will be drawn up by Autumn 2022.[9]

In October 2022, 29 local authorities were revealed to have expressed their interest in creating new multi-academy trusts during the government's "test and learn" exercise held in July, which allowed all local authorities in the country to announce their interest. The government was most enthusiastic to work with those authorities deemed to be "high performing", particularly those in the Education Investment Areas, and 17 of them were in one of the areas.[10][11]

33% of English local authorities are Education Investment Areas.[12]

Historical precedents

Education Priority Areas

The Labour government of Harold Wilson introduced Education Priority Areas (EPAs) in the late 1960s. Located in areas of deprivation, these were schools prioritised by the government for construction funding.[13] They were based on findings from the Newsom Report and proposed in the Plowden Report. The Plowden Report advised that around 10% of Britain's deprived areas be recognised as Education Priority Areas, a proposal that received bipartisan support in parliament. Despite this, a proper initiative never materialised, and over 500 individual primary schools became Education Priority Areas instead. Their teachers were given extra pay. Education Priority Areas reached their peak in the early 1970s and had swiftly declined by the beginning of Margaret Thatcher's premiership. The last priority areas were phased out after 1987.[14]

Education Action Zones
An Education Action Zone Centre in Bilborough, Nottingham

The Labour government of Tony Blair introduced Education Action Zones (EAZs) through the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.[15] They centred around groups of local schools in deprived areas and were supposed to improve educational standards in cooperation with local businesses. 25 zones were designated in the 1998/1999 academic year, benefitting from £750,000 annually. They had to raise £250,000 through private sector sponsorship every year.[16][17] These zones were governed by Education Action Forums, charitable organisations made up of trustees from schools and businesses. The forums employed staff, agreed plans for improvement with the Department for Education and Skills and were led by directors. 47 more zones were formed in 2000, with a lifespan of three to five years. After they expired, the zones either joined the Excellence in Cities programme or became new "Excellence Clusters".[18] Applications for specialist school designation from these zones were prioritised against those from the rest of the country.[19] Schools located in these zones were allowed to disregard the National Curriculum.[20]

Opportunity Areas
The XP School in Doncaster, one of the first Opportunity Areas, in 2020[21]

The Conservative government of Theresa May introduced Opportunity Areas (OAs) in 2016, after an announcement from Education Secretary Justine Greening in October. They were socially immobile areas that received priority from the Department for Education[22] and had within them cooperation between local businesses, charities and educational institutions. Six were established in 2016, an amount that doubled in 2017.[23] The areas shared an additional fund of £72 million, with the intention of boosting employability and standards in education. Another £3.5 million was allocated to these areas by the government through a partnership with the Education Endowment Foundation, for the establishment of new research schools; schools that implemented the foundation's research to boost teaching standards.[24][25] The areas were expected to expire in 2020, but the government announced an £18 million fund to continue support until August 2021.[26] Another extension for 2022 was also announced,[22] although they were soon incorporated into the new Education Investment Areas later that year.[27]

See also

References
  1. "Education Investment Areas – LGA responds to Levelling-Up White Paper announcement | Local Government Association". Local Government Association. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  2. "Government to target 55 areas in England for levelling up school standards". i. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  3. Bradley, Jennifer (1 February 2022). "55 'education investment areas' named for teacher retention payments". The School Bus. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  4. "Education Investment Areas for Post-16 Builds". Premier Advisory. 7 February 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  5. Whittaker, Freddie (28 March 2022). "Revealed: 24 'priority' areas to split £40m improvement cash". schoolsweek.co.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  6. "Suffolk to benefit from education investment as MP calls for 'world class education system'". Suffolk News. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  7. "Move to improve education outcomes latest part of levelling-up plans". The Guardian. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  8. Plaister, Natasha; Thomson, Dave (3 February 2022). "How many schools might be affected by new proposals to move underperforming schools into strong MATs?". FFT Education Datalab. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  9. Whittaker, Freddie (25 May 2022). "DfE plans first step in academy trust revolution". Schools Week. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  10. George, Martin (19 October 2022). "The councils that could set up the first multi academy trusts". Local Government Chronicle. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  11. George, Martin (19 October 2022). "Government faces uphill battle to achieve 2030 academy target". Local Government Chronicle. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  12. "Areas with weak education targeted for levelling up". BBC News. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  13. "Poverty and Schools". History Learning Site. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  14. Smith, George; Smith, Teresa; Smith, Tom (2007). "Whatever Happened to EPAs? Part 2: Educational Priority Areas – 40 years on". FORUM. 49 (1–2): 141–142. doi:10.2304/forum.2007.49.1.141.
  15. "Failing schools to get 'super-heads'". BBC News. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  16. "Education Action Zones Meeting the Challenge - the lessons identified from auditing the first 25 zones" (PDF). National Audit Office. 26 January 2001. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  17. "Education action zones dubbed a flop". The Guardian. 27 November 2001. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  18. "Excellence in Cities and Education Action Zones: management and impact" (PDF). Ofsted. May 2003. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  19. "A history of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust" (PDF). Specialist Schools and Academies Trust. p. 26. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  20. "Shaky start for action zones". BBC News. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  21. Vaughan, Richard (23 January 2017). "Doncaster: an education 'cold spot'". i. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  22. "Doncaster Opportunity Area". Doncaster Opportunity Area. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  23. Greening, Justine (18 January 2017). "Education Secretary announces 6 new opportunity areas". GOV.UK. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  24. Coughlan, Sean (18 January 2017). "'Research schools' for social mobility zones". BBC News. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  25. "Report highlights key factors to consider for Research Schools Programme in Opportunity Areas". UCL Institute of Education. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  26. "Government to extend scheme for social mobility 'cold spots'". i. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  27. "Education Investment Areas – selection methodology" (PDF). GOV.UK. February 2022. p. 10. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
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