The government will spend £105 million opening 15 new special free schools, the chancellor announced at the budget, which included no other investment for the sector.
Jeremy Hunt’s budget was heavy on tax cuts but light on public spending, with no further revenue funding to help schools deal with rising pressures.
He also announced a “public sector productivity plan” aimed at making public services including education more efficient, but did not detail how this would affect schools.
There was also no mention of the National Tutoring Programme, suggesting funding for subsidised tuition will come to an end this summer as planned.
