Leadership

School Spending in England: Trends Over Time and Future Outlook

Pupil Premium has not kept pace with inflation over the last seven years will also have disproportionately reduced real terms spending for more deprived schools. This overall pattern runs counter to the government’s stated ambitions to level up poorer parts of the country.

School spending will still be lower per pupil by 2023 than more than a decade ago under the last Labour government, according to this report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Cash available for schools in England will be between 1 and 2 per cent lower in real terms – accounting for inflation – in 2022-23 than it was in 2009-10.

The figures indicate the Conservatives will have to turn up the spending taps if they want to head into the next general election with school budgets larger than when they took power in 2010. An election is due in 2024, but some expect an earlier poll in 2023.

It comes in spite of the government’s often cited £7.1 billion in extra cash for schools between 2019 and 2023 and falling primary pupil numbers. Experts said it reflected the scale of the squeeze on budgets from austerity cuts over the past decade, as well as rising prices and increased secondary pupil numbers.

The IFS figures suggest there will still be an effective shortfall of up to £144.20 per pupil by 2022-23.

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