Worst-hit schools revealed as spending power slashed

Seven in 10 schools across England have been hit by cuts and can’t afford the same essential running costs as when the Conservatives came to power in 2010, new analysis shows.

- ALICJA HAGOPIAN , DAVID MADDOX

Some 13,000 schools across the country were subject to cuts over the period, with the worst hit – Dunraven Secondary School in Lambeth – seeing its real-terms spending power slashed by a total of £4,093,473 this year when compared to 2010.

Hundreds of schools have lost over £1m in real-terms funding compared to 2010, according to calculations by the National Education Union (NEU). On an individual level, some 2,000 schools have lost more than £1,000 in real-terms budget per pupil under the Tory government.

Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson told The Independent: “I wish that I could commit to solving all of that if Labour wins the next election, and fixing it quickly, but I do have to be upfront about the scale of the challenge.

“There will be that immediate investment of cash that we will make ending the tax breaks that private schools enjoy. But beyond that, we do need to get our economy growing so we have more to invest in our public services.”

A Conservative spokesperson said: “Under Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives, we are boosting school funding to the highest level ever in real terms per pupil, driving up standards across the country up from 68 per cent of schools being rated good or outstanding under Labour to 90 per cent today with children in England named ‘Best in the West’ for reading.”

Headteacher Claire works in an infant school in Milton Keynes. The school has lost out on £1,214 in real-terms funding for each pupil compared to 2010, according to NEU calculations, a dip of 13 per cent.

Claire doesn’t believe that either political party is tackling the budget problem. “On a national level, I think funding just needs to be completely relooked at for schools… it doesn’t feel like it’s on the agenda for this election at all. I don’t feel that it’s a priority for any of the major parties.”