Record numbers of council-run schools have slipped into the red, with the proportion of primaries racking up deficits leaping again by 20 per cent.
Spending data published this morning by the Department for Education shows almost 15 per cent of local authority-maintained primaries ended 2023-24 in deficit, up from 12.3 per cent the previous year.
Despite this, the proportion of secondaries making a loss dropped in the last 12 months.
But National Education Union general secretary Daniel Kebede has argued the figures highlight “that after 14 years of austerity, schools are in no position to absorb the unfunded pay rise that the government put forward” earlier this week.
This comes as schools increasingly look to alternative income sources, with amounts generated through activities like lettings and donations hitting a nine-year high of £1.5 billion.
1. Record deficits
The proportion of authority-maintained schools in deficit stood at 15.3 per cent, up from 13.1 per cent the year before.
The figure has continued to rise since 2021-22, and is the highest seen since 2015, when the DfE started recording the data.
Eighteen per cent of pupil referral units were in deficit by the end of the academic year, up from 17.2 per cent in 2022-23.
2. Primary and special schools worst-hit
The number of primaries racking up deficits rose to 14.7 per cent from 12.3 per cent over the period. This represents an increase of 20 per cent.
However, the rise has slowed since last year, when the proportion of local authority-maintained primaries in deficit rocketed 62 per cent in 12 months.
Just under 16 per cent of special schools were also in the red. The figure rose 20 per cent from 12.9 per cent in 2022-23.
Secondaries were the only types of school that witnessed a drop. The proportion in deficit fell to 13 per cent, from 13.4 per cent in 2022-23.
Reacting to the findings, Kebede stated his union “cannot accept further cuts to education”.
“These figures show that after 14 years of austerity schools are in no position to absorb the unfunded pay rise that the government put forward in their evidence on Tuesday. Unless the government reverses this decision there will be further cuts to educational provision.”
3. Alternative income streams
The data shows schools “self-generated” £1.5 billion of income in 2023-24 – the highest recorded.
Among other things, the cash came from lettings, catering and money received through donations and private funds.
The DfE said the “change is being driven by the increase in income from all lettings, facilities and services, particularly seen in the Birmingham local authority”, which effectively declared itself bankrupt last year.
4. Councils lean on private schools for SEND
High needs top-up funding also increased over the year. The amounts given to maintained schools increased by almost 14 per cent, to £2.5 billion.
The rise was lower than for academies (21 per cent) and non-maintained and independent providers (19.7 per cent).
An Institute for Fiscal Studies report, released this week, noted there had been “a £900 million rise in spending on fees for pupils in independent special schools between 2015–16 and 2022–23”.
This “accounts for very few pupils (30,000 in total), but placements are extremely high-cost”, averaging £61,500 a year. This compares to £23,900 in the state sector.
“Local authorities have probably had to rely on such provision due to capacity constraints in state-funded special schools and a lack of effective provision in mainstream schools,” the IFS said.
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