Poll finds school funding in need of "urgent review"

Half of schools are using funding intended for disadvantaged pupils to plug general budget gaps, a poll from the Sutton Trust has suggested. 

Three quarters (74 per cent) of primary school headteachers report having to reduce the number of teaching assistants at their school this year.

While reports of cuts to teaching assistant posts were highest in primary schools, more secondary school senior leaders report cuts to teaching and support staff. 

This is despite increases in pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN), with an increase of 19 per cent needing extra support in schools since 2019. 

Because of this, the Sutton Trust has called for a new national strategy to close the attainment gap, including a fully-funded tutoring programme targeted to disadvantaged pupils, tackling the teacher recruitment and retention crisis, reforming the national funding formula to ensure schools facing the highest needs have adequate funding, and restoring Pupil Premium funding to previous levels in real terms.

Founder of the Sutton Trust, Sir Peter Lampl, said: "The erosion of schools funding coupled with rising costs is having a major impact on the ability of schools to provide the support that low-income students need."

He said it was "disgraceful that increasing numbers of school leaders are having to cut essential staff and essential co-curricular activities."

Lampl added: "The situation for primary schools in particular, is one of rapid deterioration, with half of them having to use funding to plug gaps that should be used for poorer pupils."

He finished by saying school funding is inadequate and has to be "urgently reviewed.”

The survey of over 1,200 teachers, conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) for the Sutton Trust as part of their Teacher Voice Omnibus Survey, revealed growing staff cuts along with reductions in spending for a range of activities in schools.

The proportion of schools cutting spending on trips and outings and sports and other extracurricular activities is at the highest recorded level, indicating mounting funding pressures across the board. 

The Sutton Trust is an educational charity which aims to improve social mobility and address educational disadvantage.