Commenting on the IFS report ‘What is happening to school funding and costs in England?’, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"This report is a valuable contribution to the debate. It highlights that the headline figures on education funding do not translate into funding increases per pupil once school-specific costs are taken into account.
"Rapid rises in food and energy costs mean school budgets are yet again being stretched further. The NEU is also concerned that inflation is proving more persistent than expected in the 2022 Autumn Statement. If this continues then education will have lost out in real terms even ignoring school-specific costs.
"The education system also needs to deal with past underspending on capital projects, which has resulted in the RAAC crisis. We currently spend around £2.6bn a year on capital. It needs to rise to at least £7bn a year to fix the school estate."