later admitted there is not enough headroom to cover staff pay rises next year, meaning the prospect of more cuts.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nLeaders have also warned that grants to cover schools\u2019 increased national insurance contributions will fall short by up to 35 per cent \u2013 while pupil premium increases will also fall short of rising costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John Barneby, the chief executive of Oasis Community Learning \u2013 which runs 54 academies across England \u2013 said he \u201cmay need to utilise our reserves to ensure our schools can fully support all of our students\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00a32.2 million hit to reserves<\/h3>\n\n\n\n The trust, one of the largest in the country, continues \u201cto reformulate our financial plans to address constraints\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barneby said more investment wad needed as \u201climited funding, rising costs and the deepening SEN crisis are stretching schools beyond capacity\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the north east, Durham and Newcastle Diocesan Learning Trust expects to have to use about \u00a3300,000 of its \u00a33.9 million reserves in 2024-25. Forecasts suggest it will eat up a further \u00a31.9 million over the following two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paul Rickeard, its chief executive, said budgets had been dented further by the discovery of an underground leak at one of his primaries. The school will have to re-piped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latest report compiled by the Kreston group, a network of accountancy firms, warned earlier this year that trusts\u2019 financial buffers were already collapsing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thirty-one per cent of chains\u2019 reserves fell below level 5 per cent of total income \u2013 the level recommended by government \u2013 from 17 per cent two years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has also warned school budgets will feel \u201cvery tight\u201d next year, adding some may \u201cstruggle to cover their costs without making savings\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nigel Attwood, the head of a local authority-maintained junior school in Birmingham, said his school had slipped into a \u00a370,000 deficit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But he believed the \u201conly way we\u2019re really going to make a massive dent into those numbers will be staff. That\u2019s something I\u2019m not going to be doing in the foreseeable future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leaders consider the \u2018unimaginable\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Adrian Rogers, head of the Chiltern Learning Trust, said dipping into reserves was a short-term fix. Having used \u201cseveral million last year to cushion the staffing bill\u201d, he expected to make \u201csome large cuts\u201d in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chiltern has frozen recruitment for the next \u201ctwo to three weeks\u201d across his 18 Bedfordshire schools, with heads set to be called on \u201cto look at the unimaginable\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His secondaries will be asked to find savings of up to \u00a3750,000, while primary leaders will be set savings targets of up to \u00a3250,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe place to start is staffing because 75 to 80 per cent of your budget goes [there]. It\u2019s about how that staffing can be tightened without having any impact on pupils.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another leader, who wanted to remain anonymous, said his MAT planned to reduce its central school improvement team, instead buying in support when needed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Confederation of School Trust\u2019s annual survey last year found 83 per cent of chief executives intended to focus their academy chain\u2019s efforts on balancing budgets in 2025-26.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seventy-three per cent said they would also prioritise \u201ccost reduction\u201d. Less than half felt confident about the sustainability of their trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Nothing left to cut\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, secondaries in the Weydon MAT have been told to find \u00a3250,000 of savings on average. Its smallest primaries have a target of \u00a325,000, although \u201cthere\u2019s nothing else to cut\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John Winter, its chief executive, said a range of choices were available in secondaries, such as not replacing outgoing staff and reducing the number of subjects covered at key stage 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A school costs analysis published by the DfE last week said. schools would only be able to afford a staff pay rise of about 1.3 per cent next year. Ministers have recommended a 2.8 per cent rise for teachers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jack Worth, of the National Foundation for Educational Research, pointed out that the Office for Budget Responsibility had increased its forecast of average earnings growth for 2025-26 from 3 to 3.7 per cent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn light of this, it seems unimaginable that the DfE teacher pay proposal of 2.8 per cent for the next academic year could remain unchanged.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Energy and MIS switchovers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Winter warned that, having already budgeted for a 2.8 per cent increase, \u201ca significant amount of money [would have to be found to balance the books\u201d if the government opted for a higher rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Sheffield, the Minerva Learning Trust is avoiding \u201cdrastic action\u201d, such as redundancies, and will instead dip into its \u00a35 million reserves earmarked for building projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Schools are being asked to draw up blueprints outlining how they can \u201cmanage without staff should they leave\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bev Matthews, it chief executive, has started working with other MAT leaders in the city to explore collaboration \u201cso we\u2019re either sharing services or posts so more money can go back into schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt might mean we start up a shared company that we run those services through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
‘A cycle of unrealistic financial planning’<\/h3>\n\n\n\n One trust expects to shave about \u00a3700,000 off its bills when its energy deal \u2013 agreed when prices shot up following Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine \u2013 renews later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWarren Carratt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nLeaders had hoped for a last-minute funding boost to help them with huge pressures in the next academic year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Warren Carratt, of the Nexus MAT in Sheffield, said he was \u201cbeyond disappointed that we\u2019re still stuck in a cycle of unrealistic financial planning, which smacks of deliberate denial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that \u201cmany of us\u201d believed things would be better under a Labour government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Attwood, whose school is in a deprived part of Birmingham, is \u201ccutting back on theatre trips\u201d, sports competitions and reducing swimming lessons by a third, among other things. He has saved about \u00a350,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Child poverty crisis worsens<\/h3>\n\n\n\n The head of a council-run secondary in west London has been running a uniform programme supplying clothing and equipment to pupils on free school meals, asylum-seekers and looked-after children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat fund doesn\u2019t exist for the next academic year, so we\u2019re to going have to review how we do it. Or do we review our uniform policy \u2013 are we going to be sticklers over what the uniform expectation is?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy am I going to punish a child and parent if they can\u2019t afford to buy uniform?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adding to the strain schools are under, impact assessments suggest the government\u2019s planned welfare cuts will plunge 50,000 more children into poverty over the next five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kebede said that Labour\u2019s pledge to boost opportunities for working-class children \u201csimply won\u2019t happen without investment in our schools and funding for the pay increases needed to value, recruit and retain the educators we need\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Leaders face having to make redundancies, curriculum squeezes and cuts to programmes supporting the poorest pupils<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":311204,"featured_media":227830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[449],"post-theme":[2425],"class_list":["post-227879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-school-funding","post-theme-school-funding"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t
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![\"Warren](\"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Warren-Carratt-inset-400px.jpg\")