The government has unveiled a sweeping schools white paper that promises to rewire England’s education system, overhaul how deprivation funding is allocated, and break what ministers

describe as the stubborn link between a child’s background and their future success.

The white paper, ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’, published on Monday 23 February, sets out a long-term plan to halve the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers, while also delivering what the government calls generational reform of support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

At its heart is a stark assessment of the current system. More than a decade on from 2014, the disadvantage gap has barely shifted. Just 44% of pupils from poorer backgrounds achieve a grade 4 or above in GCSE maths and English, compared with over 70% of pupils who are not eligible for free school meals. Ministers say this is evidence of a system that is failing too many children.

A new approach to deprivation funding

To address this, the government plans a fundamental rethink of how disadvantage funding is distributed. Instead of relying on the blunt, binary measure of free school meal eligibility, ministers are exploring a more nuanced model based on household income.

Under proposals outlined in the white paper, funding could be allocated through a stepped system that reflects how low a family’s income is, how long they have experienced poverty, and where they live. The aim is to ensure schools serving the poorest communities receive significantly more support, while also removing the need for families to actively claim free school meals to unlock funding — a move that would reduce bureaucracy for schools.

Area-based challenges to drive local change

Drawing inspiration from the London Challenge of the early 2000s, which helped transform outcomes across the capital through collaboration and targeted intervention, the government is also launching two new place-based programmes: Mission North East and Mission Coastal.

These initiatives will focus on areas with persistently low outcomes, including white working-class communities, by bringing together schools, parents and local partners to design solutions rooted in local need. Ministers say the goal is not just short-term improvement, but sustainable change that can be replicated nationally.

Schools as part of wider communities

The white paper marks a clear shift in philosophy, arguing that schools cannot succeed in isolation. It links education reform with wider family and early years policies, including lifting the two-child benefit cap, rolling out family hubs in every local authority, and expanding access to 30 hours of funded early education.

Together, ministers say, these measures are intended to give children the strongest possible start in life, ease pressure on families, and improve long-term life chances.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:  “These reforms are a golden opportunity to cut the link between background and success – one that we must seize.

Our schools have made great strides in recent decades. Yet for too long, many children in our country have been let down by a one-size fits all system, denied opportunity because they’re poor or because they have additional needs.

Our schools white paper presents the blueprint for opportunity for the next generation, with an education system that truly serves every child, whatever their needs and wherever in the country they grow up”.

What else the white paper includes

Alongside funding reform, the government has announced a package of measures aimed at improving attendance, leadership, workforce retention and parental engagement. These include:

- A new national attendance ambition to recover 20 million lost school days a year by 2028/29, equivalent to 100,000 more pupils attending full time.

- Retention incentives of up to £15,000 for new headteachers willing to work long-term in areas with the greatest need.

- The first boost to maternity pay for teachers, leaders and support staff in over 25 years, aimed at improving retention and career progression.

- New “School Profiles”, giving parents a single, accessible source of information on attendance, attainment and enrichment.

- Minimum expectations for how schools engage with parents, including better communication and smoother transitions from primary to secondary school.

- Exploration of a new progress measure to better reflect the achievements of pupils who start secondary school significantly behind their peers.

Stronger support for children with SEND

The white paper also sets out reforms to the SEND system, with a focus on earlier, more consistent support delivered closer to home and without prolonged disputes.

These plans build on existing investment, including £3.7 billion to create 60,000 new SEND places and £200 million for training to ensure every teacher is equipped to support children with additional needs.

Taken together, ministers argue, the reforms represent the most significant attempt in a generation to rebalance opportunity in education — and to ensure that a child’s future is shaped by their potential, not their postcode or family income. Photo by Sebastiandoe5, Wikimedia commons.