School Funding Per Pupil Falling Faster in England Than Wales

School Funding Cuts – 8 Per Cent Per Pupil in England:

Anyone who has any connection with the education system in England, be they parent, teacher or  support staff won’t find the news a surprise.

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) the school spending per pupil in England fell by around 8 per cent real terms compared to 5 per cent in Wales.

This is caused by local authorities spending less and a ‘faster growth’ in pupil numbers.

Demands on school places have seen an increase of ten per cent in pupils but then a cut of 8 per cent in total school spending per pupil.

Cuts to school sixth form spending per pupil has been a whopping 25 per cent and local authority spending 55 per cent.

Home-to-school transport, support for children with special educational needs and disabilities and central administration is amongst the hardest hit local authority services.

The statistics cover the academic years between 2009/10 to 2017/18.

“School spending per pupil has fallen by more in England than in Wales over the last eight years, virtually eliminating the gap in spending per pupil between the two countries,” Luke Sibieta, IFS Research Fellow says.

“Policymakers in both England and Wales have chosen to protect spending directly allocated to schools for pupils under 16, and to make much larger cuts to sixth form allocations and to local authority spending. Schools in England have faced the additional pressure of a fast growing pupil population, whilst numbers in Wales have remained roughly constant.”

Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, Dr Mary Bousted said of the research:
“The IFS figures confirm that schools in England and Wales have had a severe real terms funding cut since 2009/10. The cuts have been even deeper for school sixth forms, 25% per pupil, and to local authority support services of 55% between 2009/10 and 2017/118.

“Cutting the funding for schools in England by more than those in Wales is not the way to close a funding gap or to fund schools fairly. Schools in both countries need significantly more funding, not less. Under this Government schools are experiencing severe financial hardship and having to cut the education provision for children and young people. This is an unacceptable situation that needs to be urgently addressed.”

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