Funding

The latest news and analysis on funding received by local authority and academy schools in the UK, including government spending, advice on budgeting and more

Friday

30th Jun 2023

Labour is right to ditch costly universal FSM plan
It sounds like a simple vote winner, but implementing universal free school meals is a costly scheme poorly targeted at a time when money could be better spent elsewhere in education, says Andy Jolley
Labour are right to ditch costly universal free school meal plan

Thursday

29th Jun 2023

Heads face ‘impossible choices’ after FSM shortfall
School caterers call for free school meal funding rise in line with inflation, to £2.87, to avoid food shortages and poor quality becoming normalised
Oliver More

Wednesday

28th Jun 2023

Perilous state of school buildings prove funding models must change
Shocking findings from the NAO report make clear pupils and teachers are at risk – a situation that must be addressed as a priority, says Leora Cruddas
Perilous state of school buildings prove funding models must change
700,000 pupils in schools needing major repair
The DfE does not have enough information on deteriorating school buildings to manage ‘critical’ risks to pupils and staff, warns National Audit Office
700,000 pupils are taught in schools in need of major repair.

Monday

26th Jun 2023

Trusts can’t afford an unfunded 6.5% pay rise
Academy trusts don’t have the cash reserves to swallow up a sizeable teacher pay increase on their own – funding from government will be essential, warns this MAT accountancy specialist
Money table

Thursday

22nd Jun 2023

Detailed reading tests ‘needed’ in secondary
One in five children enters secondary school with reading or vocabulary two years behind expected levels, research shows
Tower of books

Wednesday

21st Jun 2023

NTP: Better ways to help disadvantaged, say school leaders
Most school leaders favour other types of support for poorer pupils over the government’s flagship catch-up tutoring scheme, study finds
Geoff Barton

Monday

19th Jun 2023

Ofsted urged to assess youth work activities in schools
New report calls for a dedicated government minister to drive forward a national strategy to join up education and youth work services
Ofsted youth provision

Friday

16th Jun 2023

SEND: Plea for Reception place funding for nurseries
There is an ‘urgent need’ to fund nursery schools to offer specialist Reception places because of a shortage of special-school or appropriate primary school places for young children with SEND, warn sector leaders
early years
Exclusive

Thursday

15th Jun 2023

Excess primary school places double in space of 10 years
New government data shows 130,776 excess primary school places recorded for 2023-24, up from 65,649 in 2014-15
The number of excess places in primary school has almost doubled.

Tuesday

13th Jun 2023

Music: Schools need ‘more resources and less accountability’
Heads’ leaders says schools need support on music education as the DfE announces a new board to oversee its national plan
Music lesson

Thursday

8th Jun 2023

ESFA chief: Late teacher pay decision undermined MAT budgets
Education and Skills Funding Agency boss admits that the late teacher pay decision last year meant some academy trust budget forecasts were ‘not worth the paper they were written on’
Five pounds