The most deprived secondary schools saw more than double the real-terms cuts to their budgets between 2010 and 2021 than the least-deprived, new analysis shows.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies annual report on education spending also shows ministers’ promise to bring funding back to 2010 levels by next year is now potentially even further out of reach due to soaring costs.
Funding for all schools fell in real-terms over the decade after the Conservatives entered power in 2010, because cash did not keep pace with rising costs or pupil numbers.
But analysis by the think tank found that schools serving more disadvantaged pupils “have seen larger spending cuts over time”.
