As a school we focus on what matters most: happy students, excellent behaviour, strong results, and a rich curriculum.  Parents may wonder: “If the school is doing so well, why do we keep hearing about budget pressures?” This blog isn’t a rant or a call for quick political fixes. It is simply an effort to help our families understand the reality of the education sector and how hard our staff work to ensure our children thrive.

School funding per pupils at its lowest for over a decade. From 2010 to 2020, funding was largely flat, which is unprecedented in post-war history. While there have been recent uplifts, they have not matched the long freeze or the sharp rise in costs.

A common misconception is that national funding increases help to cover costs. They don’t. When teacher salaries rise school budgets rarely increase by the same amount. If funding grows by 2% but costs rise by 5%, that represents a real-terms cut. While budgets have tightened, expectations on schools have increased significantly. Schools are held more accountable than ever for outcomes, attendance, safeguarding, social care, SEND provision, mental health support – the list goes on. Alongside this, schools are facing sharply rising costs: energy and utilities, maintenance (especially in old buildings on large sites), insurance and transport, ICT costs, recruitment and agency cover. One long-term staff illness can generate a supply bill larger than the annual resources budget.

Rural schools face other, unique pressures. We lack economies of scale, recruitment is more expensive, and we manage specific logistics such as the 10% of pupils who require daily bus supervision and coordination.

Another pressure is that in a small primary, staff wear many hats. On any given day, a Headteacher acts as a strategic leader, teacher, site manager, safeguarding lead, attendance officer, curriculum manager, music co-ordinator, cleaner, bus monitor, administrator, HR manager, and even IT technician. In a larger school these responsibilities are delegated widely.

One of the greatest pressures is the sudden growth in pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Demand for EHC plans has increased by a staggering 140% since 2015, and the common belief that SEND is  funded is wide of the mark. In fact, schools receive only a small amount per pupil, covering a fraction of the real costs; EHCP funding often covers only 25% of the required support and because schools are legally required to provide support, money is often diverted from core teaching budgets to meet needs. As external services such as CAMHS face years-long waiting lists, schools have also become the front-line for mental health and social care roles once led by other agencies.

Most schools have made drastic decisions. Teaching Assistants have been reduced in many settings; early intervention has been cut (despite its known long-term value); specialist SEND roles are split across staff rather than held by experienced leads; ICT investment has fallen; and 71% of primary headteachers expect a budget deficit by next financial year. 

Even our little school is now forecasting a shortfall of £50,000 per year just to break even. Difficult decisions will need to be made here, and we will do so, as always, in the best interests of our children. We have already dramatically reduced staffing in recent years. Despite this, our pupils continue to flourish. We have established an ambitious curriculum, a well-maintained learning environment, improved behaviour and results. I have never known pressures like these, yet despite these hurdles, I have never been prouder of what our staff achieve, and I am immensely proud that our pupils’ outcomes place us in the top schools in the county this year. I am grateful to parents for trusting us with their children perhaps completely unaware of the realities behind the scenes.