1,323 schools face cuts of over £1 million.

This Government has a choice to make.

The new Prime Minister has inherited a bleak school funding landscape.

New data from the Stop School Cuts coalition reveals funding has hit rock bottom. Schools in England have lost £4.5 billion in real terms over the last 16 years, with cuts growing £300 million deeper since last year alone.

With schools on the brink, this Government must make a better choice.

Graphic with a blue map behind it and yellow exclamation mark signs in each corner. The text reads: '£4.5 billion missing from schools in England. Government cuts mean 74% of schools in England have less funding in real terms since 2010.' Below that is a cursor arrow clicking on a website link: 'schoolcuts.org.uk'.

The new data paints a stark picture of a system stretched to breaking point:

  • Severe real-terms cuts: 74% (14,053) of maintained schools in England have seen real-terms cuts since 2010 — including 70% of primary schools and 92% of secondary schools.
  • Million-pound deficits: 1,323 schools have experienced over £1 million in budget cuts since 2010.
  • Crumbling buildings: Conditions across the school estate are desperate. 66% of teachers report working in buildings with rain leaks (11% severe), 29% report sewage or wastewater leaks, and 40% report signs of vermin or pests. A staggering 84% report that overheating in classrooms is directly impacting their students’ learning.
  • Staffing and recruitment in crisis: After 16 years of chronic underfunding, one in four teachers leave the profession within three years, and one in three leave within five.
  • Increased workload: Staff shortages are driving high rates of stress and burnout. Headteachers routinely double up as caretakers, lollypop people and canteen staff to fill support gaps.
  • Resource and curriculum losses: Cash-strapped schools face stripped-back learning materials and textbooks, with some forced to cut entire subjects from their timetables.

It didn’t have to be this way. This is the result of years of political choices made by successive Prime Ministers and Chancellors. 

This new Government has the opportunity to do what those before have not: take a clear-eyed look at the costs of continuing with business as usual. 

They can choose a future of crumbling buildings, inadequate SEND provision, educators leaving the profession and fewer opportunities for children.

Or begin reversing the decline, and properly fund our education system so it can do what it does best: give pupils the tools to thrive.