Schools face cuts of £3bn, says watchdog

State schools in England will have to find £3bn in savings by 2019-20, says the public spending watchdog. Schools face 8% budget cuts and about 60% of secondary schools already have deficits, warns a funding analysis from the National Audit Office (NAO).

The Department for Education is about to launch a new funding formula, which will see 10,000 schools gaining money and similar numbers losing.To ease the transition, those losing will have annual cuts limited to 1.5%.

Education Secretary Justine Greening will reveal later on Wednesday how the different funding rules will be applied – with suggestions that it could mean reduced budgets for schools in inner London. It is likely to mean bigger budgets for areas which have been less well-funded – with areas such as Barnsley and Plymouth highlighted as currently getting less than Hackney or Coventry.

“These historic proposals will mean schools are funded according to the needs of their pupils, not their postcode,” says Ms Greening. Read More