Update on School Operations

Barker works in partnership with School and Academy Trust sector bodies The Confederation of School Trusts (CST), Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), Institute of School Business Leadership (ISBL) and The Trust Network. They continue to advocate hard on behalf of schools and trusts and are offering guidance and advice on operational issues. Some key items are highlighted here.  

IFS: Annual Report on Education Spending in England: 2024–25

This report, produced by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) with support from the Nuffield Foundation, analyses education spending trends across all stages in England. It is the seventh annual report in the series. Some key points are summarised below;
  

Total Spending: 

1. In 2023–24, total public spending on education in the UK stood at £116 billion (including the net cost of issuing student loans and in 2024–25 prices). This represents an 11% or nearly £15 billion fall since 2010–11 and represents the level in real terms as in 2006–07. This drop mostly reflects a shift in the cost of higher education from the taxpayer to graduates over time. 
2. Education spending has also fallen as a share of national income, from about 5.6% of national income in 2010–11 down to about 4.1% in 2023–24. This equals recent historic lows seen in the late 1990s, late 1980s and mid-1960s. There has been no long-run increase in the share of national income devoted to public spending on education spending, despite large rises in education participation over the long run. 

Schools: 

1. Between 2019–20 and this financial year (2024–25), total school spending in England grew by about £8 billion. This has led to 11% real-terms growth in school spending per pupil. This reverses past cuts and takes spending per pupil back to 2010 levels. 
2. In the Autumn Budget 2024, the government allocated a further £2.3 billion to the schools budget in 2025–26, with about £1 billion devoted to high needs. This allows for a further 1.6% real-terms growth in school spending per pupil. 
3. Secondary school spending per pupil in England in 2024–25 is due to be about £7,400, which is 11% higher than in primary schools (£6,700). This is down from a difference of about 30% in the 2000s and over 50% during the early 1990s. 
4. Over half of the increase in school funding between 2019 and 2024 can be explained by growth in high needs funding. This reflects the rapid growth in the number of pupils identified as having special educational needs. After accounting for planned spending on high needs, IFS estimates that mainstream school funding per pupil grew by 5% in real terms between 2019 and 2024, rather than the 11% total increase. 
5. IFS estimates that mainstream school funding per pupil will grow by 2.8% in cash terms in 2025–26. It also estimates that school costs will grow by 3.6% in 2025–26 if the pay review body follows the government’s recommendation of a 2.8% pay award for 2025. In this case, schools might struggle to cover their costs without making savings. 
6. Looking to the 2025 spending review, pupil numbers are expected to fall by 2% between 2025 and 2027. If the government chose to freeze school spending per pupil in real terms, it could make savings of £1.2 billion by 2027. However, the government also projects that high needs spending will grow by £2.3 billion between now and 2027–28. This severely reduces the chances of making savings in the schools budget. 

School capital spending is due to rise from £6.3 billion in 2023–24 to £6.5 billion in 2025–26. This leaves spending within the same range it has been for the last decade and about the same level as in the mid-2000s. From within this spending total, the government will need to cover the costs of the delayed school rebuilding programme, the costs of addressing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in schools and other overdue school repair costs.