Responding to new data, which shows that the proportion of local authority maintained schools in deficit has increased to 17.8% for the 2024/25 financial year – up from 15.3% the previous year, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said

“Behind these figures are school leaders facing impossible choices over what spending to cut – and still finding that even those unpalatable decisions are not enough.

“When we surveyed leaders about funding earlier this year, nearly half said they anticipated having to reduce numbers of teachers or teaching hours, while four in five 80% said they would have to reduce the number of teaching assistants or teaching assistant hours.

“Schools do everything in their power to protect education provision, but it is simply not possible to make cuts like this without impacting children’s learning. Some have even had to resort to fundraising to help cover costs.

“No school leader should be in this position, and while the government’s increases in per-pupil funding have been welcome, these figures underline the importance of ministers going further as schools continue to struggle amid increasing demand and costs.”