The government is currently presiding over an increase in schools
funding in England which is reversing past cuts to per-pupil
spending. We project that school spending per pupil in England
will be about 3% higher in 2024 compared with its past high-point
in 2010, after adjusting for economy-wide inflation.
But general measures of economy-wide inflation are not currently
providing an accurate picture of the cost pressures actually
faced by schools. Their costs are growing faster than
economy-wide inflation, particularly support staff pay, energy
and food costs. As a result, school funding and costs are growing
at similar rates between 2021–22 and 2024–25, leaving school
budgets to largely stagnate in real terms. This would leave the
purchasing power of English school budgets in 2024 about 3% lower
than in 2010.
Luke Sibieta, Research Fellow at the Institute for Fiscal
Studies said:
'Schools are currently seeing large cash-terms increases in
funding, which look like large real-terms increases when using
standard ways of tracking government spending. However, schools
are also currently facing rapid rises in costs, particularly
support staff pay, energy and food costs, which are not captured
in those standard economy measures. School funding per pupil is
in fact increasing by only just about enough to keep pace with
overall school costs. Policy debate should reflect the acute
pressures on school budgets.'
