NAHT
Call us: 0300 30 30 333
Home Menu

Fix School Funding

The issue

  • There has been 15 years with no overall growth in  school spending. This squeeze on school resources is effectively without precedent in post-war UK history.
  • Schools are now facing new and significant cost pressures e.g. surging energy prices, covid-related costs, falling primary pupil numbers, the National Insurance increase, and pressures due to significant underfunding of SEND.
  • Changes to the government’s national funding formula (NFF) have seen a redistribution of funding away from schools serving the most deprived communities in recent years.
  • Funding for pupils with special educational needs (SEND) is in crisis, with overall High Needs budget deficits estimated to be more than £2billion and growing
  • The value of pupil premium funding designed to support the most disadvantaged pupils has fallen in real-terms since 2015.
  • The government has only invested a small fraction of the covid recovery funding that its own recovery commissioner said would be required.
  • Between 2009-10 and 2021-22, capital spending declined by 25% in cash terms, and 29% when adjusted for inflation.
  • Specific types of schools including small schools and maintained nursery schools remain under extreme financial pressure and many of facing the real risk of closure.

 

What we want to see

  • The government needs to be more ambitious for schools and set out a proper funding plan that addresses the 15 funding squeeze.
  • The government needs to offer more support for schools experiencing severe financial pressures as a result of rising energy costs.
  • The government should set out a proper long-term capital funding plan to bring all schools up to ‘good’ condition.
  • The government should commit to a truly ambitious recovery plan based on the work of its own recovery commissioner.
  • The government should commit to at least restoring pupil premium funding in real-term terms, and increasing the Early Years Pupil Premium to reach parity with the primary pupil premium.
  • A consultation on the long-term future of the approach to maintained nursery school funding should be launched without delay.
  • The government must use the ling-awaited SEND review to develop a truly needs-led approach to SEND funding.

  • Sufficient and sustainable funding for small schools.

 

What we want you to do

 

Our conference motion

“Conference instructs National Executive to develop a national fair funding campaign to press government  to provide a sufficient overall level of funding to meet the needs of all pupils, through the national funding formula and the high needs national funding formula. This is required now to enable schools to set budgets from 2022-2023. It would allow them to meet all their statutory responsibilities and provide an extended curriculum offer that supports all children and young people to thrive academically, socially, physically and spiritually.

Conference further instructs National Executive to campaign for an increase in capital funding that will address the nation’s decrepit school estate, to ensure that school buildings and grounds are safe, fit for purpose and appropriate for the needs of the 21st century.”

Useful links
 

MP roundtable resources

Other useful links

Relevant articles and reports

 

 

NAHT's funding campaign secures additional £14bn for schools from government

A message from NAHT general secretary, Paul Whiteman to members. 

“We hope this announcement is as good as it looks.”

We didn’t expect the last week of August to be quite so momentous, but these days politics is full of surprises.

As some of you may have seen, the government has just announced £14.4bn more funding for schools.

As always the devil is in the detail, but right now, we should pause for a moment to recognise that, on the face of it, this is a substantial injection of cash, which, over three years, could make a real difference.

It is also right to acknowledge that this announcement hasn’t come out of nowhere. The funding announced today is a result of the high-profile campaign that NAHT has run alongside its members starting five years ago; and through our petitions, press releases, demonstrations, lobbying, pledges and negotiations, we have made sure that the argument for more school funding has stayed at the top of the government’s agenda

We’re not naïve, and school leaders have become accustomed to being disappointed on this issue. For that reason, my press statement, which you can read here, offers a cautious welcome as to what’s been announced.

You can also read the government’s statement in full here and make up your own mind about what they have said about the funding. 

Naturally further analysis is needed, and we will be doing plenty of work on that now to make sure that what’s been announced meets the needs of all pupils in all schools, not only in England but in Wales and Northern Ireland too. Keep an eye on your inbox over the following days for our additional commentary.

Keeping those reservations and a good dose of healthy scepticism firmly in mind, one thing is beyond dispute; the government has finally acknowledged that it takes a multi-billion-pound investment from the Treasury to repair the damage of the devastating cuts we’ve seen since 2010.

We have unequivocally won the argument for more school and college funding. And that’s because of what we’ve done together.

To that end, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank every NAHT member who has been active in our campaign. We’ve drawn together the biggest coalition of school leaders, governors, parents and other unions to make the case for proper investment in our children’s futures.

What we need to do now is make sure that the substance matches the government’s headlines.

I will be speaking to the Secretary of State for Education in the coming days, to seek further assurances from him, and will, of course, apprise you of any significant details that I’m able to ascertain.  

Best wishes

Paul Whiteman 
First published 30 August 2019
First published 09 September 2019
;