In England, Education Investment Areas (EIAs) are educationally underperforming areas prioritised for extra funding and support by the British government, with the intention of improving standards. They were introduced in 2022 as part of the

levelling-up policy of the British government "Levelling up" was a political policy first articulated in the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto that aimed to reduce the imbalances, primarily economic, between areas and social groups across the United Kingdom. It sought to do so without act ...

. There are currently 55 Education Investment Areas; 24 of these have been designated as Priority Education Investment Areas, sharing an additional fund of £40 million.

Characteristics

Alongside further government support and funding, Education Investment Areas benefit from a number of perks. Their

local authorities Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

are to be given £30 million over a three-year period to fund opportunities and care for children with special needs. 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 In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

specialist schools with free school status. Underperforming schools in Education Investment Areas (153 schools in February 2022) will be brought under the control of successful multi-academy trusts. From September 2022, Education Investment Areas will be at the forefront of the government's plan to have all schools become

academies An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

by 2030. The government is expected to cooperate with

dioceses In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

, 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. 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. 33% of English

are Education Investment Areas.

Historical precedents

Education Priority Areas

The Labour government of

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

introduced Education Priority Areas (EPAs) in the late 1960s. Located in areas of deprivation, these were schools prioritised by the government for construction funding. 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.

Education Action Zones

The Labour government of

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

introduced Education Action Zones (EAZs) through the

School Standards and Framework Act 1998 The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 was the major education legislation passed by the incoming Labour government led by Tony Blair. This Act: * imposed a limit of 30 on infant class sizes. * abolished grant-maintained schools, introduci ...

. 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 An academic year, or school year, is a period that schools, colleges and university, universities use to measure the duration of studies for a given educational level. Academic years are often divided into academic terms. Students attend classe ...

, benefitting from £750,000 annually. They had to raise £250,000 through

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The private sector employs most of the workfo ...

sponsorship every year. 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". Applications for specialist school designation from these zones were prioritised against those from the rest of the country. Schools located in these zones were allowed to disregard the

National Curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with state or othe ...

Opportunity Areas

The

Conservative government Conservative or Tory government may refer to: Canada In Canadian politics, a Conservative government may refer to the following governments administered by the Conservative Party of Canada or one of its historical predecessors: * 1st Canadian Min ...

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...

introduced Opportunity Areas (OAs) in 2016, after an announcement from Education Secretary

Justine Greening Justine Greening (born 30 April 1969) is a British former politician who was the Secretary of State for Education from 2016 to 2018. Prior to that, she was Economic Secretary to the Treasury from 2010 to 2011, Secretary of State for Transport f ...

in October. They were socially immobile areas that received priority from the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for child protection, child services, education in England, educati ...

and had within them cooperation between local businesses, charities and educational institutions. Six were established in 2016, an amount that doubled in 2017. 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 The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) is a charity established in 2011 to improve the educational attainment of the poorest pupils in English schools. It aims to support teachers and senior leaders by providing evidence-based resources designe ...

, for the establishment of new research schools; schools that implemented the foundation's research to boost teaching standards. The areas were expected to expire in 2020, but the government announced an £18 million fund to continue support until August 2021. Another extension for 2022 was also announced, although they were soon incorporated into the new Education Investment Areas later that year.

References