Nearly three-quarters of headteachers say they will have to
increase class sizes over the next 12 months because of
insufficient funding, according to the results of a survey by the
Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL).
The survey finds many schools are cutting the number of teachers
and teaching assistants they employ because of funding pressures.
This in turn impacts on provision – most notably class sizes,
curriculum options and pastoral support. Two-thirds of
respondents (67.6%) say budget cuts have resulted in increased
class sizes over the past 12 months and 73.7% say this will be an
impact over the next 12 months.
According to the most recent Department for Education statistics, more than
a million children are already taught in classes of more than 30
pupils in English schools. The number in large classes in
secondary schools has increased by more than 200,000 between
2015/16 and 2023/24.
The ASCL survey of 749 headteachers in English state-funded
schools, most of which are secondary schools, also found that:
- Nearly 60% will have to reduce their curriculum offer.
- More than half are reducing subsidised school trips.
- Three-quarters are cutting classroom resources.
- Nealy two-thirds will have to cut pastoral support
- 62% will have to run an in-year deficit budget.
- More than 40% are planning to ask for parental donations.
The condition of many schools buildings and facilities is also a
major concern after years of government underinvestment:
- Nearly 70% say they have classrooms which require replacement
or refurbishment.
- More than half have sports facilities which require similar
action.
- More than 40% have asbestos in ceilings or walls.
- A similar number have boilers or heating systems which
require replacement.
Eight in 10 respondents said they were unable to access
sufficient capital funding to pay for repairs and maintenance.
Pepe Di'Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and
College Leaders, said: “The government regularly claims that it
is putting record investment into schools but the truth is that
in many cases rising costs have outstripped funding allocations.
This leaves schools with no option other than to run deficit
budgets while they implement cost-cutting programmes.
“They do everything they possibly can to minimise the impact on
their pupils, but in the end there is nowhere left to go other
than to reduce staffing numbers with inevitable consequences for
class sizes, the curriculum they are able to offer, and pastoral
support.
“The subjects most likely to suffer are those with smaller
numbers like music, drama, technology subjects and languages.
What we are seeing is the gradual erosion of the curriculum
breadth and richness which is a proud feature of our education
system. It is death by a thousand cuts.
“The government's public sector spending plans currently
pencilled in for the next five years are very tight indeed and
add to a bleak picture with little prospect for improvement to
this dire situation.
“We don't think this is good enough for young people or the
country as whole. The new government has to show a greater sense
of ambition and recognise that education is a worthwhile
investment in the future rather than a cost to be managed.”
We sent our survey to 3,229 headteachers in England last week,
and received 749 responses, a rate of 23%. The majority, 87.5%,
were from secondary and all-through schools. The results were:
|
Have you taken/ are you planning any of the following
actions as a result of lack of sufficient funding?
|
|
|
|
|
Past 12 months
|
Next 12 months
|
|
Reduced senior leadership team
|
35.1%
|
34.6%
|
|
Reduced number of teachers
|
57.4%
|
60.9%
|
|
Reduced number of teaching assistants
|
57.0%
|
52.7%
|
|
Reduced number of other support staff
|
58.3%
|
59.4%
|
|
Reduced number of subsidised school trips
|
45.3%
|
52.7%
|
|
Reduced IT support
|
29.1%
|
34.4%
|
|
Reduced budgets for classroom resources
|
73.0%
|
74.8%
|
|
Reduced budgets for sports equipment
|
39.4%
|
47.5%
|
|
Requested parental donations
|
36.3%
|
42.6%
|
|
Have budget cuts resulted/ will result in any of the
following impacts?
|
|
|
|
|
Past 12 months
|
Next 12 months
|
|
Increased class sizes
|
67.6%
|
73.7%
|
|
Reduced curriculum offer
|
50.1%
|
58.3%
|
|
Reduced pastoral support
|
55.9%
|
63.7%
|
|
Reduced additional academic support
|
65.8%
|
72.9%
|
|
Examples of reduced curriculum offer
|
|
|
|
We are no longer able to run A-level courses such as
dance, German and music.
|
|
No longer running GCSE or A-level music – completely cut
from our curriculum.
|
|
Can't run GCSE music, A-level computing, BTEC sport.
|
|
We are not running some courses at KS [Key stage] 4 and 5
that had a small number of students such as music and
food. This may have to be extended to areas such as MFL
[modern foreign languages] in the future.
|
|
GCSE options with fewer than 15 students will not run.
This has impacted on dance and music this year.
|
|
We will no longer be able to offer all creative arts
subjects with music and drama being most affected.
|
|
Unable to offer music and certain technology subjects at
GCSE.
|
|
We will be looking at reducing the number of languages we
offer as well as reducing our A-level offer and some of
the more 'niche' GCSEs such as textiles
|
|
No longer offering music, reduced MFL offer and
technology due to low numbers of students which can no
longer be sustained.
|
|
We have had to reduce our languages offer so we no longer
offer German because class sizes are too small. We have
reduced the number of design subjects at GCSE for the
same reasons.
|
|
Has your school run/ will your school run an in-year
deficit budget?
|
|
|
|
|
Past 12 months
|
Next 12 months
|
|
Yes
|
56.6%
|
62.1%
|
|
No
|
43.4%
|
11.2%
|
|
Don't know because of uncertainty over costs (teacher pay
etc)
|
|
26.7%
|
|
Does your school have any of the following issues with
buildings and facilities?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Asbestos in ceilings/ walls
|
41.3%
|
|
Classrooms which require replacement or refurbishment
|
68.9%
|
|
Boiler/ heating system which requires replacement
|
44.6%
|
|
Electrics which require replacement
|
39.0%
|
|
Kitchen which requires replacement or refurbishment
|
37.0%
|
|
Sports facilities which require replacement or
refurbishment
|
52.3%
|
|
Are you able to access sufficient capital funding to pay
for repairs and maintenance work in your school?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes
|
19.6%
|
|
No
|
80.4%
|
|
Examples of general comments on funding situation.
|
|
|
|
Next year we will have to run a large in-year deficit
which we can just about do for one year by using up our
reserves but after that there will be nothing left to
draw upon. In other words, two years of the current
settlement and we go under.
|
|
For the last two years I have been made utterly miserable
by the process of budget planning because I know that the
cuts I am making to try and avoid a deficit are making
the educational offer at my school less good. I feel
immensely depressed about presiding over this. What
really upsets me is the loss of subjects, like music,
which I feel should be a fundamental part of a secondary
school curriculum but which I can no longer offer. I also
worry about the impact of classes of 32 as a given.
|
|
We try our best to offer a rich and engaging curriculum
for all our students. We want music and drama and sport
to be offered for all students. It is a disgrace that
persistently poor funding over several years means that
we have to cut our offer, in terms of both curriculum and
extra-curricular provision.
|
|
The three-year forecast is extremely worrying and is
causing significant concern and worry about maintaining
the high-quality levels of curriculum, facilities and
teachers and leaders in our school.
|
|
It's dire, and the fact that government are trying to
gaslight everyone into believing otherwise (including
"fully funded" pay rises) is shameful.
|
|
I have pared back everything to the bone. The only step
left is a reduction in teaching staff and increased class
sizes.
|
|
The situation continues to worsen. I have made
significant savings through natural wastage and cutting
budget lines across the board. I am now in a position
where there simply isn't anything left to cut.
|
