Ministers have been accused of “avoiding scrutiny” about funding woes during the pay dispute after delaying a crucial study on how schools are handling cost pressures.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) told ministers last year to collect “reliable evidence” on the impact of financial pressures on schools as reports circulated of narrowing curriculums and dwindling support for vulnerable pupils.
The Department for Education promised to publish the report by March. But a letter sent to the PAC on the day of a teacher strike in April, and published this week, reveals it has been pushed back until after September.
The government said this would make the research “more useful and informative” by including recent funding boosts.
