Cabinet ministers’ old schools have lost millions in funding since 2010, according to new analysis, as campaigners urge the Government to reverse cuts affecting the next generation of pupils.
Campaigners highlight impact of 16 years of cuts
The Stop School Cuts coalition will today distribute trading cards outside Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool, highlighting the effect of 16 years of real-terms budget cuts on schools across England.
Campaigners are calling on the Cabinet to ensure today’s children are not denied the same opportunities they enjoyed. The cards show cuts are particularly severe for the former schools of Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, whose Avondale School — replaced by Stockport Academy in 2007 — has lost £2.1 million, and Education Secretary Lucy Powell, whose Parrs Wood High School has also lost £2.1 million.
Former schools of senior ministers affected
Researchers also said Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls has seen £1.1 million in cuts, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting’s Westminster City School has lost £1.1 million, and Welsh Secretary Stephen Kinnock’s Drayton Manor High School has lost £1.5 million.
Across England, schools have lost £4.5 billion in real terms, with cuts deepening by £300 million in the last year alone, the coalition said.
Pressure on classrooms and teachers
Experts warned cuts are leading to severe pressure in classrooms, including more than a million children being taught in class sizes of 30 or more, and teachers having to work in crumbling buildings with leaks and pests.
Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said: "This Cabinet had the opportunity of a state education that set them up for success, but an entire generation of pupils today has known nothing but cuts from reception to secondary school. We cannot deny today's children those same life chances."
He added: "The Prime Minister and Chancellor must use the upcoming Autumn Budget to properly restore funding for schools and protect opportunity for every child in England."
Headteachers describe the reality of cuts
Stacey Clark, Headteacher of Carleton Green Community Primary School, Lancashire, said: "Over the summer holidays, while schools were empty, I spent my own money buying paint and building supplies, spending weeks of my leave physically renovating a space so that our pupils could have a functional library."
She added: "This is not an exceptional story — it is the hidden economy keeping the English education system afloat. Teachers and headteachers routinely subsidise state education out of their own pockets because the alternative is letting children go without basic essentials."
Rob Pavey, Headteacher of Cheney School, Oxfordshire, said: "I’ve cut ten teachers in the last two years. All of this harms the chances of children, all of this does damage to the curriculum. We are losing something fundamental for the future of our children."
He added: "The thing that makes the biggest difference to children is well-paid staff that have the time to listen and to create bespoke solutions for the children who need it. Every single cut means that there is less time available - staff have less time to spend with their students."
The Stop School Cuts campaign is a non-partisan coalition led by educators, parents, and school staff dedicated to securing adequate funding for every school in England.
