One in seven local authority schools was in deficit at the end of the latest financial year, government data has revealed.
The data for 2023-24 shows 15.3 per cent of maintained schools in deficit, the highest proportion reporting this since 2015. In 2022-23, 13.1 per cent of schools were in the red.
Special schools saw the biggest rise in deficits, with the proportion reporting negative revenue increasing to one in seven (15.5 per cent, up from 12.9 per cent).
This was closely followed by primary schools, where the percentage in deficit rose to 14.7 per cent this year, from 12.3 per cent.
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, warned that today’s figures show schools are in “no position to absorb the unfunded pay rise” offered by the government this week.
“Unless the government reverses this decision, there will be further cuts to educational provision,” he said.
There were 34 local authorities with a quarter or more of their primary schools in deficit, today’s data shows, the majority in London and the South East.
Self-generated income at record high
The amount of income schools generate themselves is now at its highest since the government began recording this data.
Schools self-generated £1.5 billion of income in 2023-24, or 5.6 per cent of their total income.
Headteachers’ leaders have previously warned that most school leaders are relying on community fundraising and parent donations to plug funding gaps for classroom essentials.
According to today’s figures, the change is being driven by the increase in income from all lettings, facilities and services. This was particularly notable in Birmingham, where the local authority effectively declared bankruptcy earlier this year.
In 2023-24, schools spent £757.6 million on supply teaching costs, an 8.5 per cent increase on the previous financial year.
Compared with last year, schools are spending more on directly hiring teaching staff (16.7 per cent increase), recruiting agency supply staff (7.5 per cent) and supply teacher insurance (4.8 per cent).
SEND transport costs up by a quarter
However, other costs associated with running schools have also gone up.
In 2023-24, local authority expenditure on “other education and community” increased by 13.7 per cent to £4.4 billion.
Transport for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) accounted for 34.8 per cent of this expenditure. SEND transport expenditure also accounts for two-thirds (65.7 per cent) of all home-to-school and post-16 provision transport costs, with expenditure on transport increasing across all groups.
The overall costs of transport for pupils with SEND increased by almost a quarter (21.5 per cent) to £1.5 billion.
High-needs top-up funding also increased in 2023-24, with maintained schools now spending £2.5 billion to support pupils with additional needs.
The rise comes after a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies showed that high-needs deficits risk reaching “absurd levels” of more than £8 billion.
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