Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, comments on the announcement of school funding allocations for 2024-25.
“The government’s spin machine is very irritating to school and college leaders. Education is not well funded. It is true that nominal school funding is at a record level but so are costs. What has actually happened is that school and college funding has been cut in real terms over the past decade and the government is belatedly trying to return school funding to 2010 levels while college funding is forecast to still be short of even that mark by the end of this parliament. It hardly shows a great sense of ambition for education by the government.
“Schools and colleges are incredibly hard-pressed and in many cases have had to make cuts to the curriculum, enrichment activities and pastoral support. Some small primary schools are barely financially sustainable. In addition, the backlog of repairs and refurbishment to school buildings is eye-watering because of cuts to capital funding.”