The 2015 Conservative Party manifesto said: #schoolcuts The 2015 Conservative Party manifesto said:

But it’s not quite as simple as that: Here “protected” means not increased in line with inflation.

The only way a school can increase its funding is by taking in more students. Which means that: class sizes have to go up, and teachers have to be moved to core subjects so a narrower curriculum and less/no individual support.

School population is set to rise by 8% between 2015 and 2020. 6% in primaries and 11% in secondaries

How bad are the cuts? Figures from the National Audit Office

National Governors Association 60% schools plan to make redundancies this year 77% secondaries plan to make redundancies

This is the largest cut in education funding since the 1970s. It is more than all the cuts made by Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

(Graph includes spending on FEs & pre-school (Graph includes spending on FEs & pre-school. Last Parliament the cuts mainly fell on 16-19 year olds , school buildings and EMA. It’s all areas this time.)

Big change in policy compared with the Coalition Government Source: Institute for Fiscal Studies

98.5% of schools are set to have their per-pupil funding cut in real terms £339 average loss per primary pupil £477 average loss per secondary pupil

“The floor” When Justine Greening announced the NFF, she said that no schools would lose more than 3% of their funding. This promise is not all it seems.

Schools that are on the ‘floor’ will stay there until the formula permits a funding increase. These schools will receive flat cash settlements for years to come. Some schools will get no more funding until 2025 or even later. There are 5,333 schools that require additional funds through the funding floor. These schools will receive further cuts through flat cash settlements after 2020.

School A example School A is protected by the funding floor. Without it, the NFF says the school should have a budget cut of 10%. School A will receive flat cash settlements until the formula says it should rise. If per pupil funding increased by 1% per year, School A would not receive an increase until 2027 / 28.

Organise a parents meeting at your school Haringey parents have started a campaign called Fair Funding For All Schools. There are now groups across the country.