The Government’s latest data on school funding shows that 1 in 8 schools were in deficit at the end of the financial year 2022-23. This is the highest proportion of schools in deficit since at least 2010 and the figures rose sharply in 2022-23 compared with the year before (up from 8.8% of schools in 2021-22 to 13.1% of schools in 2022-23).
Commenting on the statistical release, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“These figures show the enormous financial pressure that schools are under from rapidly rising costs and the inadequate level of Government funding.
“Primary class sizes are the highest in Europe. And secondary class sizes are the highest since records began almost fifty years ago (1977). More than a million children are taught in classes with more than 30 pupils.
“The figures also show the perilous position of local authorities struggling to provide for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). At the end of 2022-23, 2 out of 3 local authorities were in deficit. The average deficit among these local authorities has increased from £13.8m in 2021-22 to £15.9m in 2022-23. The Government’s solution to this crisis is to demand draconian cuts in provision for children with SEND instead of fixing the system they broke.
“The Government must not ignore the plight of England’s schools for another year and the Chancellor should use the forthcoming Spring Budget to protect education from further cuts in provision.