Majority of state schools will be forced to make cuts next year

New survey suggests most heads expect class sizes to rise

The majority of state schools will be forced to cut their budgets next year despite a Coalition Government promise to maintain spending on education, says a report out today.

A survey of nearly 500 school leaders showed 55 per cent were looking to reduce their costs in the next 12 months. The situation in secondary schools was more acute, with 71 per cent set to prune their spending.

The cuts would mean a rise in class sizes and schools having to reduce subject options at GCSE and A-level, said Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, which conducted the survey jointly with law firm Browne Jacobson.

“Everybody’s got to tighten their belts,” he said. “If they’ve got post-16 students, they’re not covered by the pledge to maintain spending.

Heads said it was the less mainstream subjects that would suffer: minority foreign languages and subjects like music and drama.

“These are the most obvious areas for reducing costs, but then there are also any staff reductions they can make.”

Today’s survey says head are also worried about new guidelines for tackling special education needs, offering parents more support for their children. They say they can only meet aspirations by diverting more cash to this area or employing more staff.

“These results reflect the climate of uncertainty, austerity and ongoing change in schools,” said Mr Lightman in a foreword to the report.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Education said: "Ensuring schools are properly funded is a key part of our plan for education, which is why in July we allocated an additional £390 million to the least fairly funded areas in the country whilst protecting school budgets elsewhere."