One in five schools said they had decreased the extent of their special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) support for the upcoming year when the Department for Education asked them about their responses to financial pressures in 2023.
The DfE has released a report on schools’ responses to financial pressures last year, following a recommendation from the Commons Public Accounts Committee that it collect reliable information about the challenges that schools were facing.
The report reveals the cuts that some schools and trusts felt they would be forced to make for 2023-24.
The DfE surveyed maintained schools and multi-academy trusts in June and July last year. Responses were received from 2,154 maintained schools and 579 MATs.
However, the survey predates the publication of guidance on the teachers’ pay additional grant for the 2023-24 financial year. When the poll was conducted, it was the 2023-24 financial year for maintained schools but still 2022-23 for academies.
The report comes at a time when sector leaders are warning that funding allocations for 2025-26 will leave schools at risk of having to make further cuts.
Schools’ response to funding pressures
Here are the main findings from the DfE research:
1. Only 4 per cent of schools felt financially secure
Most schools felt they were feeling some kind of financial pressure when they were surveyed by the DfE; only 4 per cent said they felt financially secure.
Meanwhile, 40 per cent said they were under financial pressure that required them to make “substantial changes to spend profiles and provision”.
Schools in this category were more likely to report cuts.
2. Schools under pressure having to make cuts to staff and SEND
Some 33 per cent said they had decreased their number of specialists teachers, while 56 per cent were not making changes in this area.
Primaries were more likely to report having to cut specialist teachers (35 per cent), than secondaries (26 per cent).
Meanwhile, 41 per cent said they had reduced additional classroom support, such as teaching assistants. Although one third of respondents had been able to increase it.
While 55 per cent said they had increased their SEND support for the upcoming year, one in five said they were decreasing it (19 per cent).
Other areas of provision that many schools were having to reduce included curriculum resources (39 per cent), school trips (36 per cent) and enrichment activities (33 per cent).
3. Small and rural schools felt under more pressure
From interviews with 40 schools, the DfE identified several factors that were more likely to be related to a school feeling financial pressure.
These included being a small school, having a high number of pupils with SEND, having older school buildings, being in a rural area and having a falling pupil roll.
Researchers have warned the DfE that falling rolls should not be used as an excuse to cut school budgets, as cost pressures may force some schools to close as a result.
4. Schools expected to spend more on staff and bills
Some 92 per cent of schools projected an increased proportion of overall budget spending on energy costs, and nearly eight in 10 on teaching and teaching support staff (77 per cent) and utilities (76 per cent).
Conversely, the areas where schools were most likely to project a decreasing proportion of overall spending were: teaching CPD (32 per cent), ICT (24 per cent), educational supplies (22 per cent), administrative supplies (20 per cent) and building infrastructure/estates (17 per cent).
5. Schools increase grant applications and requests for donations
Some 68 per cent of schools had changed their income generation strategies as a result of financial pressures.
More than six in 10 schools increased their applications for grants and a similar proportion reported increased requests for donations from parents. Some 57 per cent increased charges for wraparound care (before- and after-school clubs).
6. Most trusts facing financial pressure
Some 17 per cent of multi-academy trusts were under financial pressure that required substantial changes to their spending plans.
Another 43 per cent reported being under some financial pressure and having to make “quite a few changes” to spending plans and central provision.
Just 6 per cent of MATs reported feeling financially secure. Around a third were under financial pressure that could be managed “through minor changes to spend profiles and provision provided centrally”.
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