Last week (Weds 20th Oct), school leaders’ union NAHT releases the regional results of a survey of its members on school funding.

Responses from school leaders in Greater London showed that:

More than a quarter (28 per cent) have already had to make cuts to balance their budget, and 35 per cent predict they will be forced to make cuts this year.
A third (31 per cent) of school leaders predict a deficit budget in 2021/22 based on current funding levels.

School leaders identified a number of factors that were causing pressure on their budgets. These included:

Providing required support for pupils with SEND. Almost all school leaders (95 per cent) reported that funding for pupils with SEND in their school is insufficient, and an overwhelming majority (92 per cent) reported that top-up funding for pupils with EHC plans was insufficient.
Unfunded increased employment costs.
Reduced pupil numbers.

Barry Read, headteacher of a primary school in Romford, said: “We are at crisis point. It is heartbreaking to always be talking about budgets when someone comes to you asking for a new set of picture books. Teachers, including myself, often by equipment for the children because the school cannot afford it.”

Tim Bowen, NAHT president said: “The situation regarding school funding – for general budgets, pupils with special educational needs and the Covid recovery programme – is in a critical situation. Spending per-pupil in real terms is lower now than it was a decade ago and schools are responsible for so much more. The system is at breaking point. The Government needs to see education as investing in our country’s future, rather than a burden on the Exchequer.”

Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary said: “The Government’s failure to invest in schools in London and across the country over the past decade is forcing school leaders to cut back on staff, support for pupils, and activities that enrich the school day. It is clear that school budgets across London remain under enormous pressure.

“The evidence is very clear that by 2023 school funding will still be lower in real-terms than it was in 2010. Given the additional demands on schools, including the challenge of responding to Covid-19, that is not a sustainable position and will lead to further cuts in schools becoming unavoidable. Our research shows that already more than a quarter of school leaders across London are being forced to make cuts in 2020/21.”

Mr Whiteman added: “What we are seeing here is a combination of long-term underfunding and additional pressures caused by the pandemic. If the government is serious about educational recovery and its suggestion that no child will be left behind, then it needs to provide pupils and schools with the resources they desperately need. Now, more than ever, we need to be investing in education, not cutting back.”