A survey of 1,048 school leaders finds that the vast majority are turning to charitable grants and other fundraising to help cover costs including classroom materials, staffing and building repairs.
The research has also revealed that 83% lack the funding needed to maintain their school buildings while 18% say parts of their school estate cannot be maintained.
The findings have been published by the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) ahead of its annual conference on May 3 and 4 in Newport.
The respondents – who come from primary, secondary and special schools – described the range of costs that they required additional funds to meet:
- Classroom materials (53%).
- Staffing costs (24%).
- Play equipment (71%).
- Extra-curricular activities, like school trips and clubs (69%).
- Estate management or building repairs (37%).
Of the respondents, 55% are concerned that they will have to cut teachers or teaching hours over the next three years, while 43% said they have already done so in the last three years.
Nearly half (48%) are also concerned they will have to make savings on other admin support staff over the next three years, and 47% think they will need to cut or restructure their leadership team.
Analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies in March projected that school costs are to rise by about 5% in 2024/25, while funding per-student is currently due to rise by just under 4%.
It says that total school spending per-student fell by 9% in real terms between 2009/10 and 2019/20. Since 2019/20, there have been significant rises which the analysis says is likely to lead to a 9.5% real-terms increase between 2019/20 and 2024/25.
However, a return to per-student spending levels last seen in 2010 is under threat due to continuing high levels of inflation (for more on this analysis, see our report here).
Schools in the survey described having to lease facilities like gyms, sports halls and garages to community groups, as well as relying on PTA fundraising and donations from parents.
Sean Maher, headteacher at Richard Challoner School, a secondary in Kingston-upon-Thames, said: “I’ve never known the budget situation so dire. Everywhere you look there’s a squeeze on funding. We’ve already cut admin staff to the bone and we’ve had to lose four teaching assistants and three teachers over the last two years. It’s an unacceptable situation and these decisions are not in children’s best interests.”
He said the school relied on contributions of around £45,000 a year from the PTA and £35,000 from parents, which pays for equipment, resources and repairs. Recently, these have included a new minibus, a gym floor, library shelving, and an outdoor sensory area for SEND students.
He added: “Without the money raised through lettings and other income and from the PTA and parents we could not run the staffing model that we do or afford all the equipment and resources we need for our students. It’s as simple as that.”
The same research also asked about the state of their school buildings. Of the 1,048 school leaders, 83% said they lack the funding needed to maintain their school buildings, while 62% are “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied” with the state of their school buildings.
Almost a fifth (18%) of the respondents said that parts of their school estate, including specialist classrooms, laboratories, playgrounds, kitchens, and toilets can't be maintained.
And 37% said they have had to raise funds to cover estate management and buildings.
Last year, a damning report from the National Audit Office warned of a “significant funding shortfall” in capital investment which it said has contributed to the “deterioration of the school estate”. It judged that an estimated 700,000 students are learning in schools that need major rebuilding or refurbishment work.
The NAO said that of the 64,000 or so individual school buildings in England, 38% (around 24,000) are “beyond their estimated initial design life”.
In the NAHT survey, leaders reported being forced to use classrooms that are damp and mouldy. In some cases, areas of schools remain out of bounds as they are not safe enough for use; 94% of the respondents said that the cost of building work had risen due to inflation.
Overall DfE capital spending has declined by around 37% in cash terms and 50% in real terms between 2009/10 and 2021/22 (Danechi & Long, 2023). The NAHT wants to see additional investment of £4.4bn annually to upgrade school buildings – and the issue is to be discussed during its annual conference.
Cindy O’Sullivan, headteacher of Godsen House School, a state school in Surrey which supports children with SEND, said: “Our Grade II listed school building is over 230-years-old, and we have been supporting children with SEN since the 1940s. The building and grounds are picturesque, but it is also rickety, decrepit, and woefully out-of-date, with leaky pipes, a sky-high heating bill, blocked drains, and rotting single-pane windows. We don’t have the budget to maintain the building and ensure children continue to receive the outstanding education that they deserve.”
Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, said: “In the last year, while the (concrete) crisis has grabbed headlines, hundreds more school buildings have quietly slipped further into disrepair. Our children deserve to learn in safe, comfortable conditions. With a general election on the horizon, I urge all political parties to commit to a long-term plan backed up by serious new investment to ensure all school buildings are safe and fit-for-purpose.”
Commenting on the majority of schools being forced to turn to additional fundraising to make ends meet, Mr Whiteman added: “What have things come to when schools are having to rely on charity and go cap in hand to local communities to afford teaching staff, classroom materials and play equipment at a time when many families are themselves struggling to get by?
“The reality is that funding shortfalls mean cuts to teachers and teaching assistants, larger class sizes, reduced subject choice, and less individual support for students. At their worst, they may even threaten the future viability of some schools.
“The government has quite simply failed to invest anything like enough in our schools over the last decade to keep pace with inflation, and funding remains below 2010 levels in real terms.”