Enduring cuts and future school funding challenges

“Our Research and Policy Officer, Esme Lillywhite, unpacks the findings from our latest research on school finances. Against the backdrop of long-term underfunding and concerns about falling pupil numbers, our annual polling of school leaders and teachers puts a spotlight on some of the tough financial decisions facing our schools in 2026. Falling rolls, rising challenges? The polling reveals details about the cuts schools expect to have to make in the next academic year due to financial pressures, spanning staffing, student support, extra-curricular opportunities, school trips, and other vital features of school life. Just 12% of senior leaders anticipate not having to make any such cuts. While a tough funding environment for schools is nothing new (as uncovered by our previous research in this area) our findings come at a particularly crucial time in the context of falling rolls and concerns about what this might mean for school budgets. A recent report highlighted that falling pupil numbers in London could slash £45m from schools’ budgets over the next four years, while others have stressed that this is a national problem . Earlier this month, Schools Week reported on large MATs proposing cuts of up to £800k in the face of fallings pupil numbers. Teaching assistants and school readiness Since our polling began in 2017, the most common area for reported cuts has been teaching assistants. This year is no different, with 71% of senior leaders having to make cuts to teaching assistants, and 59% expecting to have to do so in the next academic year. These trends are largely driven by primary schools. This is particularly important given reports of a growing school readiness crisis, with recent evidence suggesting that around one in four children start school without basic life skills such as going to the toilet and eating and drinking independently. School readiness actively impacts teachers’ and teaching assistants’ time, with around 90% reporting that lack of school readiness impacts the time they have to spend with children according to a report by Kindred. These issues are causing growing disruption in schools. The high levels of cuts expected for teaching assistants present a real concern for how the whole system will cope. The impact on SEND support Alongside cuts to teaching assistants, some 43% of school leaders reported having made cuts to SEND support. With SEND provision in crisis, in February 2026 the Government released its proposed SEND reforms . Our recent report, Selective Inclusion , concluded that investment in staffing is key if the aim is to create a more inclusive system where children with SEND can thrive in local mainstream schools The extent of cuts made, and that senior leaders expect to make, to SEND support across both primary and secondary schools is therefore a major cause for concern. Broader cuts Cuts are not exclusive to staffing. A third of senior leaders also reported having to cut sports and extracurricular activities – vital aspects of education which help pupils develop beyond the classroom, discover new interests, and learn new skills. Expected cuts in this area weren’t much more optimistic, with around 27% expecting to have to make cuts in the next academic year. In theory, the Government’s new enrichment entitlement sounds great. But in reality, any reform needs to address the fact that schools are being forced to cut the very activities that would bring these benefits. Halving the attainment gap Our polling warns that 43% of senior leaders report having to use pupil premium to plug gaps elsewhere in their school budgets. Accordingly, the vast majority of senior leaders (86%) feel that pupil premium funding is less than needed to support eligible pupils in the school. While the Government’s ambitious aim to halve the attainment gap by 2040 is welcome, this must be accompanied by the necessary investment. The Sutton Trust has campaigned for the rebalancing of the national funding formula, and the Government’s proposal to develop a new model of pupil premium based on income rather than the binary indicator of FSM is indeed a step in the right direction. But in the context of pupil premium rates declining by over 16% in real terms value compared to a decade earlier, more investment is needed to ensure every child has the opportunity to thrive. Our results on tutoring are especially concerning, given tutoring is widely recognised as one of the most effective ways of improving the attainment of disadvantaged students (high-quality teachers being another crucial lever). Around half (52%) of senior leaders reported having to make cuts to one-to-one and small group tutoring for financial reasons. 72% of senior leaders whose schools had participated in the NTP (National Tutoring Programme) reported providing much less tutoring since the end of the programme. In January, the Government announced plans to roll out AI powered tutoring tools with the aim of addressing the attainment gap. However, the jury is still out on how much these tools can emulate the benefits of human tutoring, as well as wider effects on broader skills such as confidence and communication. Overall, cuts to school budgets can disproportionately affect pupils from lower income backgrounds, who are also the most likely to gain from extra teacher and staff support, trips, sports, and other extracurricular activities. To truly narrow the attainment gap, any solutions must acknowledge and address the reality of difficult financial decisions our school leaders are still having to take. 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