Funding the future – the story so far … (a National Governance Association article)

School governors and trustees are responsible for the financial oversight of their schools, which includes deciding how the budget is spent – and almost three quarters are telling us that they are unable to manage funding pressures without negatively impacting pupils’ education.

It’s clear to see why. The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) has calculated that total school spending per pupil has fallen by 8% in real terms between 2009-10 and 2017-18. This is in part due to a 55% cut in local authority spending on services for schools and cuts of over 20% to sixth-form funding. Funding provided per pupil to primary and secondary schools has also been hit hard over the past few years, falling 4% since 2015.

We are working with governing boards up and down the country as well as unions, charities and parent groups to make the case for investment in schools.

The impact on schools

We know that governors and trustees have acute concerns about their schools’ budgets. In May and June 2018, 5,218 governors and trustees responded to NGA’s annual survey of school governors and trustees. The findings are a stark reflection of the depth of the current funding crisis:

• only half of respondents’ schools were able to balance their income and expenditure, with almost a third drawing on reserves – of these, 75% expected that they would run out within two years
• high needs funding is a big concern, with 74% of respondents saying that current funding is insufficient
• there is significant pressure on early years provision in schools
• at the other end of school life, funding pressures are increasingly impacting on sixth form curriculums
• schools have already made significant cuts due to financial constraints, including to staff – and secondary schools have felt the biggest impact so far
• all school types are feeling the impact of cuts to local authority services
• crucially, just one in five respondents thought funding pressures could be managed without negative impact on the quality of education their schools provide

Content published and promoted by Willenhall Liberal Democrats all at 23 Lynwood Close, New Invention WV12 5BW

   Leave a comment