The government will not meet its aim of bringing school funding back to 2010 levels because their costs are growing faster than those faced by the rest of the economy, new analysis suggests.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies found that once rising staff, energy and food costs faced by schools are taken into account, schools’ purchasing power will actually be 3 per cent lower in real terms in 2024 than it was when the Conservatives came to power.
Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, said last year the government’s current funding settlement “would allow schools to return to at least 2010 levels in real terms”.
IFS analysis did find “standard measures” of inflation typically used showed school spending per pupil “currently on course to be back above 2010 levels by 2024, with increases over this parliament more than enough to reverse the cuts seen up to 2019”.
