Teaching and Education in 2025: From Crisis to Continuity – Tackling Teacher Shortages, Funding Cuts, Overstretched SEND Support, and Pupil Attainment

Part 2

We continue to take a look at The Teacher Labour Market in England Annual Report 2025, compiled by The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) and the many DfE reports on education sector funding. Part one, released earlier this week focussed on recruitment and retention, and workload and wellbeing; part two of our blog looks at funding and budget cuts, SEND, pupil attainment, and the role of technology and AI in schools. 

💰 Funding and SEND: Stretching Every Pound 

The financial outlook for schools in 2025 is increasingly bleak. According to the School Cuts coalition and the National Education Union: 

• Schools face a £630-£700 million funding gap next year, equivalent to losing 12,400 staff – 5,700 teachers and 6,700 support staff. 

• 75% of primary schools and 92% of secondary schools are expected to make cuts in 2026 due to rising costs and insufficient funding. 

• The government’s proposed 4% teacher pay award will only be funded to 3%, leaving schools to absorb the shortfall. 

• Cost pressures are rising by 3.4%, while mainstream funding increases by just 2.2%, creating a real-terms cut. 

• Schools are being told to find “efficiencies” to meet pay obligations, despite already stretched resources. 

The Institute for Government’s Performance Tracker 2025 warns that the government’s current budget cannot meet its education priorities. Schools are cutting staff, IT, sports, and enrichment activities, and many are using Pupil Premium to plug core budget gaps, undermining its purpose. 

While per-pupil funding is projected to exceed 2010 levels this year, the reality for schools is far more complex. Rising inflation, unfunded pay awards, and escalating operational costs have eroded purchasing power by 4%, meaning that schools can afford less with more. The proposed 2.8% teacher pay rise this year may maintain parity with average earnings, but without full government funding, it risks pushing more schools into deficit. 

This financial strain is felt even more so in areas of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Despite growing demand, SEND provision remains underfunded and overstretched. Schools are facing mounting pressure to deliver personalised support, meet EHCP requirements, and close attainment gaps – often without the specialist staff or resources they need 

📚 Pupil Attainment and Absence: Recovery and Reinforcement 

Post-pandemic attainment gaps persist, especially in Maths and English. Absenteeism remains high, with 21% of pupils persistently absent. 

Attainment gaps remain a major concern in 2025, particularly in core subjects like English and Maths. Although Key Stage 2 results have improved slightly since 2022, they remain below pre-pandemic levels, and the end of the National Tutoring Programme has left schools without a dedicated recovery mechanism. 

Absenteeism compounds the issue. In 2023/24, 21.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing more than 10% of lessons. Ofsted’s final report under Amanda Spielman warned of a breakdown in the “unwritten agreement” between schools and parents, with attendance no longer seen as non-negotiable. 

SMS supports attainment through: 

• Subject-specialist supply staff: Ready to deliver curriculum-aligned teaching and intervention. 

• Tutors and intervention specialists: Available for small group and one-to-one support, especially in Maths and English. 

• SEND and EHCP-aligned educators: Helping schools meet learning needs and close gaps. 

• Flexible deployment: Cover absence, run booster sessions, and maintain continuity during staff shortages 

🤖 Technology, Training, and Talent: Innovation That Works for Schools 

While AI continues to reshape lesson planning and curriculum design, it cannot replace the human connection at the heart of great teaching. SMS supply staff bring real-world adaptability, relational teaching, and sector-aligned expertise, complementing tech tools with classroom presence. 

But we don’t stop there. At SMS, we actively invest in our supply staff through ongoing CPD and training, helping them build skills in safeguarding, SEND, curriculum delivery, and behaviour management. This ensures schools receive high-quality, confident professionals who are ready to make an impact from day one. 

And when schools find a great fit? Our ethical model means SMS staff can be hired permanently after 12 weeks at no extra cost – no finder’s fees, no hidden charges. It’s a win-win: schools gain skilled, supported staff, and educators find long-term roles in environments where they thrive. 

In a sector facing recruitment challenges, SMS offers a sustainable staffing pipeline, combining flexibility, development, and ethical hiring 

Why Schools Choose SMS 

Schools Mutual Services is more than a staffing provider – we’re a sector partner. Our supply staff are: 

• Ethically recruited and fairly paid 

• Fully vetted and SEND-ready 

• Supported with sector-leading health and wellbeing services 

• Flexible and responsive to school needs 

• Cost-effective, with transparent pricing 

In a year of continued uncertainty, SMS offers stability, quality, and ethical support. Whether you need short-term cover, specialist intervention, or strategic staffing solutions, we’re here to help. 

Let’s build a resilient education workforce – together. 

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 invests in the education 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 cost-effective and sustainable solution for supply teachers and supply support staff, that puts pupil outcomes first. 

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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 

16 Commerce Square, Nottingham NG1 1HS
📞 0115 646 6460 | 07460 430653
✉️ nottingham@schoolsmutualservices.co.uk