£630 Million Funding Cut: What It Means for Schools, and How Schools Mutual Services Can Help!

£630 Million Funding Cut: What It Means for Schools, and How Schools Mutual Services Can Help!

The School Cuts coalition – which is run by education unions – has released new researched, which has revealed a stark reality for schools across England: a projected £630 million real-terms funding cut in 2025-26, equivalent to the salaries of 12,400 school staff… including 5,700 teachers and 6,700 support staff.

This funding gap stems from the Government’s decision to award a 4% teacher pay rise, but only fund 3% of it. With rising costs outpacing funding, 75% of primary schools and 92% of secondaries will be forced to make cuts next year. The average secondary school will lose 1.2% of its spending power, pushing budgets to their lowest levels since at least 2010.

The Impact on Schools:

• 1 in 7 schools are already in deficit – the highest rate since records began
• Every local authority will see a funding cut per pupil in real terms
• The worst-hit area, Hammersmith and Fulham, faces a 1.9% reduction
• Rising costs – including pay, pensions, and inflation – will increase school expenditure by 4.1% in 2025-26

Education leaders, unions, and parent organisations are united in their concern. Redundancies, reduced provision, and long-term sustainability risks are becoming unavoidable.

Read the full NEU press release.

How Schools Mutual Services Supports You

At SMS, we believe schools shouldn’t have to choose between staffing and sustainability. As a not-for-profit, school-owned supply agency, we offer ethical supply staffing solutions that protect your budget and prioritise pupil outcomes.

Here’s how we help:

• Capped margins and no hidden fees
• Fair pay for educators aligned with national scales
• No charge for permanent hires after 12 weeks
• Cheaper payroll solutions than commercial providers
• School-ready supply staff supported with real CPD
• Local reinvestment – every pound stays in the education system

As the sector braces for another year of financial strain, SMS offers a smarter, more sustainable way forward.

Schools Mutual Services (SMS) is a not-for-profit supply staffing agency owned and managed by schools, designed to offer ethical, transparent, and cost-effective staffing solutions across the education sector. Unlike commercial agencies, SMS reinvests back into the system, helping schools protect their budgets while ensuring fair pay and professional development for supply educators. SMS provides school-ready staff who are supported with real CPD and aligned to national pay scales.

With regional hubs covering the whole of the North East, East Midlands and the South East, SMS works with executive leaders in schools and academies across Newcastle, Durham, Gateshead, Sunderland, Northumberland, South Shields, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicester, Oxfordshire, Swindon and Berkshire.

Each hub is embedded within its local education community, working in partnership with schools, academies, multi-academy trusts and teaching alliances such as OTSA, to deliver tailored supply staffing support across primary and secondary education, whether that is day-to-day supply teaching or long-term placements.

From multi academy trusts to community primary and special schools, SMS is helping educational establishments navigate financial pressures with a smarter, more sustainable solution for supply teachers and supply support staff, that puts pupil outcomes first.

With SMS, you’re not just filling a short-term supply need, you’re investing in a smarter, more sustainable future for your school.

If you have any supply staffing requirements or would like to discuss any information in this article further, you can contact us here ➡️CONTACT FORM

North East Hub

Portland House, Newcastle, NE1 8AL
📞 0191 933 8300
✉️ info@schoolsmutualservices.co.uk

South East Hub

Podium Sandford Gate, Littlemore, Oxford OX4 6LB
📞 01865 597 771
✉️ oxford@schoolsmutualservices.co.uk

East Midlands Hub