Our annual survey of 1,282 teachers, conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) as part of their Teacher Voice Omnibus Survey, takes a closer look at schools funding and how school leaders are spending their budgets this year.
Last year, we found that many school leaders were having to cut essential staff and activities as they struggled to deal with the cost of living crisis. The new survey reveals a worsening picture of school funding, with growing staff cuts along with reductions in spending for a range of activities in schools. Notably, it shows that the proportion of senior leaders who are using the Pupil Premium – funding which is given to schools specifically to support disadvantaged pupils – to plug gaps in their general budget is at its highest level since our polling began in 2017.
74%
The proportion of primary headteachers who report cutting teaching assistants this year.
47%
The proportion of school leaders using the pupil premium to plug gaps in their budget.
50%
The proportion of schools who report cutting spending on trips and outings this year.
Key Findings
Schools continue to cut back on items or activities due to financial pressures
More school leaders reported staffing cuts in the last year, with the proportion of senior leaders reporting cuts in teaching staff (32%), teaching assistants (69%) and support staff (46%) all higher compared to 2023 (28%, 63% and 40% respectively). Those reporting cuts in teaching assistants were already sharply up in 2023 and this year’s figure represents a more than 50% increase in the last two years.
Secondary senior leaders have cut more teaching and support staff (38% and 51% respectively) than primary senior leaders, who cut more teaching assistants (74%).
Senior leaders also reported making cuts to teaching assistants (69%), IT equipment (51%), trips and outings (50%) and sports and other extracurricular activities (27%).
Spending cuts on IT equipment were reported by 51% of senior leaders compared to 42% in 2023. This represents a near doubling in just two years since 2022 (27%) with the highest levels in primary schools.
The largest cuts in sport and other extracurricular activities came at primary schools with 29% of senior leaders saying they had had to cut this spending over the last year.
The pupil premium continues to be used to plug funding gaps
The proportion of senior leaders reporting using pupil premium funding to plug gaps elsewhere in their school’s budget was also up to 50% in primary schools and 47% among all senior leaders. These were up from 42% and 41% respectively last year, figures which were already the highest seen in this polling since the question was first introduced in 2017.
These financial pressures are reflected in how schools look to improve pupil learning. Senior leaders and teachers have become more cost-conscious in 2024, with 65% of senior leaders saying that they considered which approaches and programmes were the most cost effective when deciding which to adopt to improve pupil learning. This was up from just 39% in 2023. 72% of leaders said they considered research evidence, down slightly from recent years, with 69% saying they consult the Sutton Trust/EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit.
The National Tutoring Programme remains popular ahead of its abolition
Overall use of NTP funding in schools was down slightly on last year, with 47% of senior leaders saying they used it over the last year for either tuition partners, academic mentors or for school-led tutoring sourced locally, compared to 52% in 2023. This could be expected given government cuts this year in the NTP subsidy to schools from 60% to 50%. While slightly fewer primary school senior leaders (45% compared to 52% in 2023) said they were using NTP funding, there was a slight increase among secondary senior leaders with 58% saying they used it compared to 56% in 2023. The government has failed to commit any school funding for the NTP in the next academic year and this level of take up points to the impact that cutting this funding will have in the autumn of this year.
Recommendations
Reform the National Funding Formula to rebalance funding back towards schools serving the most disadvantaged communities.
Reverse the real terms erosion of Pupil Premium funding, restoring funding to previous levels.
Extend the Pupil Premium to post-16 institutions. The attainment gap doesn’t end at 16, and neither should dedicated funding.
Renew the National Tutoring Programme with ringfenced funding for the long-term and target it at disadvantaged pupils.
