Nine in 10 schools have cut their spending in the last 12 months, with most making cuts on learning resources amid the soaring costs crisis, according to a new Department for Education survey.
The School and College Panel report also found that most school staff felt spending cuts had impacted on pupils or staff - most commonly reducing morale and increasing teacher workload.
The findings are revealed today in a summary of survey findings carried out in November last year gauging the views of school and college staff, including 1,447 school leaders and 1,938 classroom teachers.
Here are the key findings:
Almost all schools forced to make cuts
The majority (91 per cent) of schools have taken at least one measure to reduce spending in the last 12 months, according to the survey.
The most common steps were to cut funds going into learning resources (73 per cent) and to reduce spending on building or maintenance (63 per cent).
Around seven in 10 schools said the cuts had reduced staff morale (71 per cent) and/or increased teacher workload (69 per cent).
Over the next 12 months, the vast majority of schools anticipated they were likely to need to take action to further reduce costs.
However, this survey was carried out prior to the November announcement from the government that £4.6 billion extra would go into the schools budget.
Increase in hungry pupils
Two-thirds (66 per cent) of schools said the number of pupils arriving hungry increased since the start of the academic year, the government report said.
Meanwhile, 75 per cent of schools reported an increase in the number of pupils who were not able to pay for school trips, and 70 per cent had seen an increase in pupils unable to buy or replace uniform or sports kit, the DfE said.
Energy bills and mental health concerns most challenging
In November 2022, the most common challenge reported by schools in the coming months as a result of the rising cost of living was increased energy bills for the school (93 per cent) and increased mental health concerns among pupils and/or parents (89 per cent).
This survey was carried out two months after the government announced additional support for energy bills for schools.
Most schools focused tutoring on disadvantaged pupils
Around three-quarters (78 per cent) of schools were using, or planning to use, at least one National Tutoring Programme (NTP) route this year. School-led tutoring was the most commonly used route, with half (50 per cent) of schools covered in the survey currently doing so.
Two-thirds of schools reported offering tutoring through the NTP “only” (5 per cent) or “mainly” (61 per cent) to pupils eligible for the pupil premium.
School leaders can support pupils on ‘transgender matters’
The report says that among those “who felt that providing support to pupils about transgender matters was part of their job role”, three-quarters (75 per cent) of school leaders and just over two-fifths (43 per cent) of school teachers were either “very” or “fairly” confident in doing so.
Among this same group of teachers, more than half (59 per cent) reported accessing at least one source to help them provide support to pupils on “transgender matters”.
A quarter (25 per cent) used charity resources and just under a quarter (23 per cent) sought information from the school’s senior leadership team, the report said.
Sexual harassment at same level despite Ofsted focus
The report said that almost nine in 10 (86 per cent) school leaders were aware of the Ofsted review of sexual abuse, compared to just under two-thirds (65 per cent) of teachers.
Two-thirds of schools aware of the review (66 per cent) had already changed their policies in response to it.
Schools and colleges were also asked whether the number of reports of sexual harassment and/or abuse from pupils in the past year had changed. Most schools reported no change (77 per cent), while 14 per cent had seen an increase.
