The investigation by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) highlights a reliance by the Department of Education on national figures that indicate schools are in reasonable financial health.
Latest data shows 88 per cent of maintained schools and 93 per cent of academy trusts in England are in surplus.
But the committee says these figures serve only to mask “significant variation and challenges for individual schools”, particularly those in more deprived areas.
“While the department asserts from its global figures that schools have coped well with financial pressures it lacks the curiosity needed to find out what is actually happening at local level and why,” its report concludes.
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