Schools cannot suffer further budget cuts and may struggle to survive without the fundraising of Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs), campaigners have warned.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s schools funding package announced in the spending review will amount to an extra £4.7bn a year by 2028/29 according to the Treasury, which works out as an average annual real-terms per pupil rise of 1.1 per cent.
However, the Institute for Fiscal Studies says the reality could actually be a per-pupil funding freeze, as once the cost of expanding free school meals is stripped out, there will be a real terms freeze in the budget.
Rachael McNamara, who lives in West Sussex, is a Special Educational Needs co-ordinator and a member of the senior leadership team at a primary school. The mum of two says schools across the country are “almost running on empty” and that many are relying on the fundraising by PTAs to survive.
“Things cannot continue the way they are in education with cuts as the system is just going to collapse,” she tells The i Paper. “I just can’t see how schools can deal with any more cuts, especially with low birth rates, meaning that many schools are undersubscribed and not running at capacity.
“But they still have to pay the teachers and all their outgoings, so it is a very difficult situation.
square EDUCATION Reeves's 'tight' school funding could force staff cuts and hit children with SEND
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“I have noticed that schools which have a strong PTA fundraising for them have much better resources and facilities. But these are funded by the PTA, not the Government.
“Without PTAs, a lot of schools wouldn’t be able to manage.”
Working in special educational needs herself, Ms McNamara, feels very strongly that investment is needed in this area.
Latest figures show that there are over 1.7 million pupils in England who have special educational needs (SEN).
This is an increase of 93,700 (5.6 per cent) pupils since 2024. This includes the number of pupils with an education, health and care (EHC) plan and the number of pupils with SEN support, both of which continue the trend of increases since 2016.
“We refer children for things like speech and language therapy, but there is a shortage of speech and language therapists so some children aren’t seen for several years,” she said. “Early intervention is so important as without it, their need becomes greater and then the Government is going to end up spending more on that child. It really is a big mess.”
The Treasury has said there will be an extra £547m in 2026/27 and £213m in 2027/28 for “reform of the SEND system”, from a separate “Transformation Fund”. But it is unclear what the cost of actual SEND provision will be.
Ms McNamara, 34, who is a mum to children Caitlin, four and Rowan, two, told how she seriously considered leaving teaching even though she loves her job due to the high costs of childcare.
“In the end, I decided to persevere and carry on working. There were some months where I was actually losing money rather than making any. But I have been at this school since 2014 and I didn’t want to give up on a job I loved just because of childcare fees.
“I am glad I stayed, but there were times when it was really hard.”
Rachael’s children Caitlin, four an Rowan, twoIn the spending review, the chancellor confirmed an allocation of £370m across four years to deliver more school-based nurseries in spare primary classrooms and an extra £1.6bn per year by 2028/29, compared to 2025/26, to continue the expansion of government-funded childcare for working parents.
She also confirmed the rollout of breakfast clubs, which are already being piloted in 750 schools in England.
Ms McNamara said that while she welcomes any extra funding in childcare to support working parents, it should not come at the expense of cuts to education in other areas.
“As a parent, I want to see more money invested in childcare. But I would not want to see any cuts in schools to fund this,” she said.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “There is little doubt that while schools have been protected compared to other government departments, the funding announced this week does not amount to a huge windfall – especially after funding for free school meals and to help with the much-needed teacher pay award have been factored in.
square EDUCATION Reeves's 'tight' school funding could force staff cuts and hit children with SEND
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“We have heard from school leaders who have had to turn to fundraising to help generate income, and some are having to consider cuts to teaching and teaching assistants.
“This new funding, while welcome, won’t be enough to shift the dial. The increased number of pupils with special educational needs is one of the biggest pressures facing schools, and they simply don’t have the resources to offer the support children deserve.
“It will be absolutely vital that the government’s plans to reform the special educational needs system, expected in the autumn, are backed by the necessary funding, especially given the likely focus on educating more pupils with additional needs in mainstream schools.
“Schools need sustained long-term investment, not only in SEND, but also in core school funding and crumbling buildings.”
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