Responding to analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies
(IFS), which shows that the costs faced by schools are growing at
a faster rate than school funding, Geoff Barton, General
Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:
“This IFS analysis shows the reality behind the government’s
rhetoric about ‘record funding’ of schools – which is that
schools are actually much less well funded than they were in 2010
when funding is set against rising costs. As a result, they have
already had to make very difficult decisions about the amount of
pastoral support and curriculum options they are able to provide,
and what they can afford in terms of IT equipment, classroom
resources and routine maintenance. Many of these issues are even
worse in post-16 education which has been even more poorly
funded. Meanwhile, capital budgets have been so severely cut
since 2010 that many parts of the school estate are falling apart
and are riddled with asbestos and crumbling concrete. And special
educational needs provision is in crisis with the level of need
much greater than the available resources. The government has
another opportunity in next week’s spring budget to address these
issues by investing in children and young people. We think that
this a far better thing to do for this country than a
pre-election tax cut for short-term political gain.”
