Spending per pupil is forecast to be one to two per cent lower than 2009/10 levels by 2022/23, the Institute for Fiscal Studies warns, despite the government ploughing £7bn into education to aid recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Due to the extra funding per pupil spending has increased since 2019/20 when the figure stood at nine per cent lower than 2009/10 levels.
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However, Luke Sibieta, research fellow at the IFS and author of the report, said: “The nine per cent fall in school spending per pupil in England over the decade between 2009 and 2019 is the largest in more than 40 years, and probably a lot longer.
“The fact that it still won’t have recovered back to 2009 levels by 2022 shows just how big the squeeze has been.”
Disadvantaged pupils will be worst hit by funding cuts, the report states, noting that the most deprived secondary schools saw a 14 per cent real-terms fall in spending per pupil between 2009/10 and 2019/20, compared with a nine per cent drop for the least deprived schools.
“Whilst the National Funding Formula for schools has helped to ensure funding for different areas reflects the way they have changed over time, it has also provided bigger funding boosts for the least deprived schools,” according to researchers.
Between 2017/18 and 2022/23, funding allocated for the least deprived schools will increase by eight to nine per cent in real terms compared with five per cent for the most deprived schools, the research adds.
It also shows that spending per pupil has gone up faster in primary schools than in secondary schools.
Sibieta said: “Schools serving disadvantaged communities face the biggest challenges. They faced the biggest cuts up to 2019 and are now receiving the smallest rises. This pattern runs counter to the government’s aim of levelling up poorer parts of the country.”
Josh Hillman, director of education at the Nuffield Foundation, which funded the research, added: “We also know that the most disadvantaged pupils are more likely to be behind on their learning as a result of disruptions to their education during the Covid-19 crisis. It is crucial that schools in deprived areas receive appropriate and well-directed funding so that they can help to close the disadvantage gap and ensure all children can reach their potential.”
