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Most schools face making cuts next year, unions warn

School Cuts coalition warns of a £700m funding gap as government tells leaders to find 'efficiencies' to meet pay rise costs

School Cuts coalition warns of a £700m funding gap as government tells leaders to find 'efficiencies' to meet pay rise costs

Schools face a £700 million funding gap next year, with three in four primary schools and almost all secondaries facing not being able to meet costs, new analysis from the union School Cuts coalition suggests.

Union leaders warned schools’ costs are expected to rise by 3.4 per cent next year, while mainstream funding will increase by just 2.2 per cent.

It echoes recent warnings from the Institute for Fiscal Studies that increases in school costs will outstrip the government’s recent funding boost.

The Department for Education recently admitted that “most schools” will need to supplement additional funding allocated at the autumn budget with “efficiencies” in order to afford a proposed 2.8 per cent pay rise from next September.

School Cuts analysed the impact of the proposed rise, along with the £1.3 billion funding increase announced last term and anticipated inflation.

They predicted that 76 per cent of primary schools and 94 per cent of secondaries will not be able to afford their costs next year. This leaves a funding gap of £700 million.

It will also mean that per pupil funding will “drop to the lowest levels in England in real terms for at least 15 years”.

The government was given an opportunity to dispute their analysis, but did not do so.

‘No choice but to make further cuts’

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said the Labour government was elected “on a promise of change”.

“It is time for the government to deliver on that promise and that must start with prioritising school funding.

Daniel Kebede
Daniel Kebede

“Schools and colleges simply do not have the capacity to fund pay increases. Fourteen years of funding cuts have left budgets stripped to the bone, impacting on the education of every child.”

Pepe Di’Iasio, leader of the ASCL leaders’ union, warned “we cannot keep putting schools and colleges in a position where they are left with no choice but to make further cuts to provision”.

“Schools, colleges and their staff are central to the government’s ambition of improving opportunities for young people, but it is difficult to see how this can be achieved if they cannot afford the cost of pay awards without having to make cuts.”

And Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT heads’ union, said schools “have already had to make repeated cuts after more than a decade of austerity under the previous government and many parents will be well aware of the relentless budget pressures that their children’s schools have faced”.

“School leaders simply can’t make any more cuts without directly harming pupils’ education.”

‘Tough decisions’ needed, says DfE

The Department for Education said it trusted schools “to manage their own budgets, and the vast majority are operating with a cumulative surplus, with a minority having a deficit.

“Schools will be expected to fund this pay award from the additional investment provided at the budget, alongside their existing funds.

“For many schools this will mean reprioritising some of their budget – to go towards new pay costs as well as more generally ensuring best value from overall resources.”

The department “will be developing in partnership with the sector a suite of productivity initiatives to help schools manage their budgets, to maximise opportunities for learners”.

A spokesperson said they “recognise the challenges schools are facing”.

“But the £22 billion black hole the government inherited means that fixing the foundations of the economy will take time, and tough decisions are needed across the public sector to get our finances back under control.

“That includes in schools, where we will support leaders to use funding as efficiently as possible, while continuing to deliver better life chances for children and young people across the country.”

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