Per-pupil funding set to rise by 1.2%

Experts have repeatedly warned schools will be forced to make cuts next year as cost rises outstrip funding
30th January 2025, 1:19pm

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Per-pupil funding set to rise by 1.2%

https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/per-pupil-funding-set-to-rise
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Per-pupil school funding is set to increase by 1.2 per cent next year after adjusting for inflation, Department for Education figures show.

This is widely expected to be outstripped by cost increases.

Average funding for those aged between five and 16 will grow from £7,920 per pupil in 2024-25 to £8,210 in 2025-26 - a 3.7 per cent increase.

Accounting for inflation, the figure for next year comes down to £8,020.

“For the majority of schools this will mean they are put in the invidious position of having to make further cuts to provision,” said Julia Harnden, funding specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders.

A ‘small real-terms rise’

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has previously calculated per-pupil funding would rise by 1.6 per cent.

The IFS estimate is based on projected January 2026 pupil numbers, while the DfE has used January 2025 numbers.

IFS research fellow Luke Sibieta said today’s figures confirm the extra £2.3 billion the government allocated to schools at the budget for 2025-26 amounts to a “small real-terms rise”.

“However, the real picture for schools is probably tighter than this,” he added.

The IFS has previously predicted school costs will grow by 3.6 per cent next year - more than the mainstream funding rise of 2.8 per cent in cash terms.

The figures announced today include funding through the dedicated schools grant (DSG), high-needs place funding, the pupil premium and several other grants such as the core schools budget grant.

They do not include the additional funding schools will get to support the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions.

Schools ‘need to find efficiencies’

Unions have been warning most schools will face making cuts next year. The School Cuts coalition said that 76 per cent of primary schools and 94 per cent of secondaries are unlikely to be able to afford the expected increase in school costs for 2025-26.

The sector is also awaiting the final teacher pay award for 2025-26. The DfE has recommended a rise of 2.8 per cent, but has not recommended any funding to cover this.

In a submission to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), it said many schools would need to find “efficiencies” to cover the pay rise.

“On present trends, schools would have to make savings in order to afford the 2.8 per cent teacher pay recommendation from the government this year,” Mr Sibieta said.

The figures released today are separate from the actual allocations given to schools under the National Funding Formula (NFF), which takes into account factors such as school phase.

As announced in November, the minimum per-pupil funding levels through the NFF for 2025-26 will be £4,955 for primary schools and £6,465 for secondary schools.

DfE recognises ‘challenges schools are facing’

The DfE said in November that mainstream schools funding allocations through the NFF were increasing by 2.2 per cent per pupil for 2025-26.

Included within this was a 1.3 per cent increase to ensure pay awards for 2024 continued to be fully funded.

The total amount of funding allocated to schools for 5- to 16-year-olds will rise to £63.7 billion next year in cash terms - which is £62.2 billion in this year’s terms compared with the £61.6 billion in total funding schools got for 2024-25.

A DfE spokesperson said: “We recognise the challenges schools are facing, but the £22 billion black hole the government inherited means that fixing the foundations of the economy will take time, and tough decisions are needed across the public sector to get our finances back under control.

“That includes in schools, where we will support leaders to use funding as efficiently as possible, while continuing to deliver better life chances for children and young people across the country.”

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