Commenting as the government today confirms core funding for schools via the National Funding Formula, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

"We need to remember that despite the government’s bold claims on funding, independent analysis has shown that what it actually amounts to is a 13 year real-terms freeze in school spending. At best, it will only just about cover the cuts schools have experienced since 2009.

“Furthermore, because of the way the government has chosen to distribute funding, those schools serving the most deprived pupils are losing out as the government has deliberately chosen to weaken the link between funding and need. In effect, they have undermined their own funding formula through their new minimum funding arrangement. A recent National Audit Office report showed that none of the most deprived fifth of schools were allocated an increase in funding as a result of this new mechanism.

“It is also worth remembering that the government chose the middle of a pandemic to implement a change in pupil premium reporting that has meant thousands of children who would have become eligible for free school meals and additional help due to their families’ circumstances have been denied any additional funding. Much of the government’s investment in recovery has immediately been swallowed up by this ‘stealth cut’.

“In light of all this, talk of ‘levelling up’ starts to sound very hollow indeed.

“Overall the government’s investment in schools during the pandemic has been risible. Their recovery plan and the money put into it was almost universally dismissed as miserly and insufficient. It is very clear that education and children’s futures are not a priority for this government.”