- Education funding was cut in real-terms under the Coalition Government. Any extra funding was provided via the Pupil Premium but this was targeted at particular pupils and therefore distributed unevenly.Many schools have had to use Pupil Premium funding simply to plug the gaps caused by other funding cuts. Many sixth form colleges have seen their funding devastated.
- Now the Conservative Government has promised that school funding per-pupil will stay the same in cash-terms - but the impact of inflation means the value of school funding per-pupil will fall by as much as 10 per cent in real terms, even before the impact of extra costs such as higher employer National Insurance and pension contributions.
- The NUT has recently surveyed its school representatives:
- Nearly 75 per cent of respondents had concerns about finances raised with them by their head teachers
- 60 per cent stated that teaching posts had been lost in their schools
- Over 60 per cent stated that classroom support posts had been lost and 55 per cent stated that other support posts had been lost
- Nearly 60 per cent reported bigger class sizes
- Over 65 per cent reported a reduction in spending on books and equipment
- Nearly 45 per cent stated teachers were paying for materials more than previously
- 50 per cent reported cuts in support to pupils with Special Educational Needs and English as a second language
- Respondents also noted a greater reliance on non-qualified teachers and teaching assistants.
- The Conservatives have not promised to protect post-16, capital funding or other education funding.
- Overall, the Conservatives plan deep cuts in public spending;this is bound to have an impact on schools and colleges. For example cuts to LAswill continue to impact on services such as school improvement, behavioural and pupil support services, libraries, child protection, music services and outdoor education.
- Capital funding has been cut dramatically. The Building Schools for the Future Programme was scrapped in 2010, cancelling 700 school building projects. There has been a total real-terms cut in capital spending of over a third since 2010-11[1].
- The Education Services Grant which includes money for spending on school improvement, management of school buildings and tackling non-attendance has beencut by £200 million (around 20 per cent) in 2015-16, further denying schools access to essential services[2].
- Funding for 16-19 education overall has been devastated, with huge real-terms cuts estimated at 14 per cent[3]. The new 16-19 funding formula will cut sixth form colleges funding by a further 6 per cent if implemented fully from September 2016[4]. The long term future of many colleges is at risk if the cuts continue[5]. A survey undertaken by the Sixth Form Colleges Association in the summer of 2015 showed that 72 per cent have dropped courses, 81 per cent have increased class sizes – and more than one in three think they will not be a going concern by 2020.
- Despite the growing shortage of school places in many areas, particularly in the primary phase, and theteacher recruitment crisis, the Conservative Government is continuing to prioritise funding for its ideologically-driven academies and free schools programme. Forty two free schools have opened in areas with no predicted need for additional places, at a cost of at least £241million[6].
- Although the Government has, under pressure from the NUT and others, allocated additional funding for school places, local authorities say that this is not enough to fund the places needed.The impact of any new funding will be hampered by the Government’s insistence that any new schools must be academies or free schools. (see our EdufactSchool Places Crisis
- In Wales, overall funding for schools has been allowed to fall in real-terms, exacerbating the shortfall in overall funding in comparison to England, most recently estimated at £604 per pupil. The Welsh Government has announced in year funding cuts to the Education department in 2014-15 amounting to over £4.4 million resulting in even greater pressures on school budgets.
- The Coalition Government altered the school funding system to pave the way for a National Funding Formula (NFF). This has already significantly reduced local authorities’ ability to take account of schools’ differing needs.The Conservative Government is still intent on pressing ahead with the NFF amid pressure from its own MPs about the perceived unfairness of the school funding system.
- Without additional funding, however, the redistribution of funding between areas under a NFF will mean that overall school funding will be even less likely to match the needs of children and schools. A school level NFF won’t just mean extra funding for some areas; it will mean significant cuts for others.
Produced by the National Union of Teachers
[1]IFS / Sibieta Schools Spending: Briefing note BN168 (op cit)
[2]
[3] IFS / SibietaSchools Spending: Briefing note BN168 (op cit)
[4] Association of Colleges(January 2013)Briefing Note on the Funding of 16-18 Education,
[5]Sixth Form Colleges Association (February 2013)Creating a Level Playing Field in Sixth Form Education: a White Paper
[6] Public Accounts Committee: Establishing free schools, page 15