Maintained schools budgets have fallen further into deficit, figures obtained by Schools Week show, prompting fresh concerns about their viability amid squeezed funding, rising costs and falling pupil numbers.
The findings come as governors say budgets are now their biggest concern – with one in ten schools relying on financial support to stay afloat.
This week the education unions also demanded that the government fully fund this year’s 4 per cent pay rise for teachers to break the “vicious cycle” of funding cuts.
Sam Henson, the deputy chief executive of the National Governance Association, said school finances were at breaking point.
Data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act from 71 councils – nearly half the local authorities in England – shows that the average maintained primary school registered an in-year budget deficit of £6,360.49 in the 2024-25 financial year, compared with an average £3,162.17 in 2023-24.
Fifty-four per cent of primary schools are still maintained. At secondary, just 17 per cent remain under local authorities.
There was a rapid dip in finances in the 299 maintained secondary schools in our dataset, falling from a £46,000 average in-year surplus in 2023-24 to £43,000 average deficit in 2024-25.
Average in-year deficit quadruples
Some councils had not yet received schools’ end-of-year financial returns when we submitted our request, or declined to release figures ahead of the government national data release.
But of our dataset, the average in-year revenue deficit for all maintained schools quadrupled from £1,169.26 in 2023-24 to £4,585.10 in 2024-25.
The data covers 5,345 maintained schools, but no academies, independent or free schools. The figures also exclude maintained schools that became academies during the two financial years.
“As these figures show, many schools are continuing to face severe pressures in making their budgets balance,” said Ian Hartwright, the head of policy at the school leaders’ union NAHT.
“School leaders are being forced into cuts that include reducing the number of hours of teachers and teaching assistants, with others leaving posts vacant when staff leave.
“Some are even having to fundraise in an effort to bring in the money they need to maintain provision for pupils.”
Considerable variation
The headline data also hides considerable variation between local authorities, with some seeing improved school finances and others a considerable worsening.
About half of the primary schools that registered an in-year deficit in 2023-24 did so again in 2024-25.
Out of the 4,540 primary schools in the dataset, 710 were in deficit on their cumulative revenue budgets in 2024-25 – just under 16 per cent, and up from 645 in 2023-24 (14.2 per cent).
Running an in-year deficit can be advised when accumulated surpluses run very high.
But the primary schools that registered an in-year deficit in 2024-25 were carrying cumulative surpluses from the previous year only slightly above the national average – £128,000 per school in deficit, compared with £122,500 among all primaries – which fell by about 44 per cent in the past year.
This suggests the in-year deficits are down to more than just sensible pruning of excess reserves.
Demands ‘ever increasing’
The figures give an indication of how stretched budgets were before the 4 per cent teacher pay rise this financial year, which schools will have to find further savings to fund.
“Minsters have not fully funded the rise in national insurance costs for schools or the salary uplifts for teachers and school leaders that are much-needed after years of real-terms cuts,” Hartwright said.
“At the same time, demands upon schools are ever-increasing, with the government wanting to see more pupils with special educational needs (SEND) educated in mainstream classrooms.”
The recent spending review pledged £4.7 billion extra for schools. But accounting for rising costs, this works out as a less than 1 per cent rise by 2028.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies also said the expected rise in spending on SEND could also wipe out the small rise – which left schools facing a real-terms spending freeze.
Daniel Kebede, the general secretary of the National Education Union, said the spending review was not “a good settlement” for education. “Schools will face further cuts for the foreseeable future.”
Huge change in fortunes in some areas
Our analysis shows great variation between councils. Maintained primaries in North Yorkshire went from an average in-year surplus of £7,963 in 2023-24, to an average deficit of £21,186 in 2024-25.
Meanwhile, Bury’s maintained primary schools saw a financial recovery from an average deficit of £41,589 in 2023-24 to an average surplus of £13,914 last year.
Barking and Dagenham is one of the worst affected areas.
The London borough’s 32 maintained primary schools went from an average in-year deficit of £4,806 in 2023-24 to a huge average deficit of £112,082 in 2024-25, leaving 14 of the schools in a cumulative deficit position.
The council said this was down to more children with high needs moving into the area, falling rolls and rising costs – including unfunded pay increases.
“Together, these pressures are rapidly depleting any reserves schools may have previously held,” a spokesperson said.
“All schools with a deficit are required to have a recovery plan in place and to take steps to bring their spending back into balance over time. Our schools are working closely with their governing bodies to make difficult decisions in an extremely challenging financial context.”
More funding needed, say unions
Teachers’ leaders responded to the figures by calling for more funding.
“It’s vital the promised reforms to SEND are backed by the necessary funding, and that children’s education is prioritised in future government spending decisions, with the sustained long-term investment schools desperately need,” said Hartwright.
“Without this, with the best will in the world, schools will struggle to consistently provide children with the first-rate education they deserve.”
Kebede added: “The effect on the profession of pay, workload and a lack of funding is clear to see and the reason for the worst recruitment and retention teaching crisis in a generation.
“The NEU calls on the chancellor to put money into schools so that the long years of cuts that are affecting the ability of schools to give children and young people the education they deserve. can finally come to an end.”
Schools Week also asked councils for forecast financial outturns for 2025-26, but hasn’t included the figures as most were formulated before the government decided to fund some of the teachers’ pay award for this year.
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