Less than a third of Covid cost to England's schools reimbursed by government

A new report by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) finds that less than a third (31 per cent) of the additional costs facing schools as a result of the pandemic are covered by the government’s support fund.

The research finds that virtually all schools have had to spend more this year in order to operate in a ‘Covid-safe’ environment, with half of schools having to use their reserves and half unlikely to balance their budget by the end of the year.

The analysis, which is based on responses from over 700 schools covering March to November 2020, finds that almost all schools reported extra expenditure on PPE and cleaning supplies, while a large majority faced additional costs from signage, digital equipment and handwashing facilities. Schools have also spent more on teaching staff this year and this is expected to increase in the months ahead.

While the government has provided some financial relief to schools through its ‘exceptional cost fund’, EPI estimates that of the total Covid-related costs to schools in the country, the majority will not be met by the fund.

This means that many schools will still be facing a significant bill following the pandemic – a shortfall which amounts to £40 per pupil and which may force schools to make savings elsewhere. This shortfall is the equivalent of half the funding allocated by the Department for Education to schools to help pupils catch up with lost learning.

While all schools have seen extra costs this year, these new findings indicate that the pressure of this additional expenditure will be felt most in schools with high levels of disadvantage.

Assessing Covid-19 cost pressures on England’s schools also demonstrates how these financial pressures are likely to have long-term consequences for schools. While the Chancellor confirmed significant additional funding for schools in last month’s Spending Review, the report finds that because of the pandemic, schools are now likely to face growing challenges in both income and expenditure in the months ahead.

Evidence suggests that disadvantaged schools are more likely to face a shortfall with their catch-up funding, as they can expect to spend more than other schools. EPI has called for the £650m catch up premium to be far better targeted: under the government’s current plans, a school in an affluent area receives the same funding as a school in a poorer area.

Commenting on the report, Dr Mary Bousted, joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “Despite much talk from ministers about education being a national priority, this report exposes the Government’s neglect of schools.

“Schools have been reimbursed for only a third of the money they have spent managing coronavirus with half of head teachers saying that they expected their school to be in deficit by the end of the financial year. It is likely that this is an underestimate as coronavirus spread so widely in the second half of this term causing even more disruption.

“The Government claims to want to build back better but that will not be possible if schools are bankrupted by coronavirus. Money was found to subsidise people eating out over the summer. Surely Government must see that sufficiently funding schools and colleges is of greater importance".

* Read Assessing Covid-19 cost pressures on England’s schools here

* Education Policy Institite https://epi.org.uk/

* National Education Institute https://neu.org.uk/

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