Four-fifths of headteachers are cutting teaching assistant provision in an attempt to balance school budgets, according to a survey.

The 80 per cent of heads who said they were reducing the number or hours of teaching assistants in 2017-18 marks a significant increase from the 66 per cent who said the same last year.

More than a third have cut the number of teachers or the hours they work.

The findings, from a survey by the NAHT heads’ union, come as the government introduces a national funding formula for schools, and after it announced an extra £1.3 billion last summer, taken from elsewhere in the schools’ budget.

The research also follow criticism from a respected academic, who said the rising number of teaching assistants in England’s classrooms was part of a “creeping amateurism”.

More than a fifth (21 per cent) of school leaders responding to the survey said that their budget for 2017-18 was in deficit - a 13 percentage point increase since 2015.

Nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) of respondents said they “strongly agreed” that cutbacks had already had a negative impact on the performance of their school. And only 8 per cent were not anticipating having an untenable deficit at some point.

School budgets ‘at breaking point’

Asked what actions they were taking to try to balance budgets, 84 per cent said they were reducing investment in equipment for the school - up from 82 per cent last year.

Some 70 per cent were reducing investment in CPD - up from 66 per cent the year before.

More than three-fifths (63 per cent) were reducing their maintenance budget, an increase from the 58 per cent who said the same in 2016-17.

And nearly half (47 per cent) were reducing non-educational support and services for children. 

The proportion who had reduced the number or hours of teachers was 37 per cent - up from 31 per cent.

Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, said: “This poll adds further weight to the argument that school budgets are at absolute breaking point. No school is immune. Primary and secondary, academy and local authority, mainstream and specialist; the entire state-funded school system is rapidly heading towards insolvency. And as this research shows, the cuts are beginning to have an impact on children and education

“The government has tried to blame schools by suggesting that they are sitting on surpluses. Our data shows that whilst 76 per cent of schools were able to dip into reserves in 2015, this year it is only 41 per cent. Any rainy day money schools might have had has already been spent. The government’s only option now is to find more money for schools.”

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