Three quarters (74%) of primary school headteachers report having
to reduce the number of teaching assistants at their school this
year, according to new polling released today. This is despite
increases in pupils with Special Educational Needs, with an
increase of 19%* needing extra support in schools since 2019. The
survey of 1,282 teachers, conducted by the National Foundation
for Educational Research (NFER) for the Sutton Trust as part of
their Teacher Voice Omnibus Survey, reveals a worsening picture
of schools funding, with growing staff cuts along with reductions
in spending for a range of activities in schools.
The proportion of senior leaders reporting cuts in teaching staff
(32%), teaching assistants (69%) and support staff (46%) has
increased since 2023. While reports of cuts to teaching assistant
posts were highest in primary schools, more secondary school
senior leaders report cuts to teaching (38%) and support staff
(51%). Schools in the North East were the most likely to have
reduced teaching staff, at 45% compared to between 16%-36% in
other regions.
The proportion of schools cutting spending on trips and outings
(50%) and sports and other extracurricular activities (27%) is at
the highest level since the Sutton Trust's polling began in 2017,
indicating mounting funding pressures across the board.
Headteachers in primary schools were the most likely to report
cuts in sports and extracurricular activities, with almost a
third reporting this (29%). Over half (51%) of school leaders
report cuts to IT equipment, with the highest levels again in
primary schools, at 53% compared to 36% of those in secondary
schools.
The proportion of senior leaders reporting using pupil premium
funding to plug gaps elsewhere in their school's budget has
reached 50% in primary schools and 47% among all senior leaders,
up from 42% and 41% respectively last year, and the highest seen
in this polling since the question was first introduced in 2017.
Pupil premium is extra funding provided to schools to support
disadvantaged pupils.
Reflecting the deterioration of funding for the National Tutoring
Programme this year, the 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. The NTP was set up in the wake of the pandemic to
help pupils catch up with lost learning. Although gaps in
attainment between the most and least disadvantaged pupils are
now at their widest in more than a decade, the government has
failed to commit any dedicated funding for the NTP in the next
academic year.
The Sutton Trust has called for a new national strategy to close
the attainment gap, including a fully-funded tutoring programme
targeted to disadvantaged pupils, tackling the teacher
recruitment and retention crisis, reforming the national funding
formula to ensure schools facing the highest needs have adequate
funding, and restoring Pupil Premium funding to previous levels
in real terms.
Sir Peter Lampl, Founder of the Sutton Trust and Founder
of the Education Endowment Foundation, said:
“The erosion of schools funding coupled with rising costs is
having a major impact on the ability of schools to provide the
support that low-income students need. It's disgraceful that
increasing numbers of school leaders are having to cut essential
staff and essential co-curricular activities. The situation for
primary schools in particular, is one of rapid deterioration,
with half of them having to use funding to plug gaps that should
be used for poorer pupils.
“It's extremely short sighted to remove funding for the National
Tutoring Programme when half of schools are using it, and when
there is extensive evidence that it works. The government's
rhetoric on education being a priority is a sham. School
funding is inadequate and has to be urgently reviewed.”
Notes to editors
