ASCL comment on IFS report on pressures on school funding

Responding to a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), which highlights a growing list of pressures on school funding, Pepe Di'Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:

“This report details how the government has failed schools in every element of the resourcing that is essential to the operation of the education system – sufficiency of funding, teacher supply, and upkeep of buildings and facilities. It's shameful that there has been no growth in funding per pupil over 14 years, while at the same time schools have been battling a rapid increase in responsibilities and costs and teachers have faced real terms pay cuts because of government austerity policies.

“The next government must take the opportunity of a projected fall in pupil numbers to invest properly in schools and colleges, rather than clawing back savings into the Treasury and making the situation worse.

“Policymakers must treat education as an investment in the future of children and young people and the future of the country, rather than as a cost that can be cut.”