Falling Pupil Numbers Hitting School Budgets, Warn Governors

Nearly half of governors and trustees in primary schools in England have said their finances have been impacted by falling pupil numbers. A survey of over 3,000 school leaders by the National Governance Association (NGA) published on Friday found that nearly 4 in 10 (39 percent) reported that their finances were being impacted by falling pupil numbers. This was found to be more of a concern for primary schools (45 percent) than secondary schools (23 percent). In England, school funding is tied to enrolment figures. The NGA said that projected pupil numbers has replaced infrastructure costs as the third biggest challenge to setting a balanced budget. The association noted that this was the first year they asked school chiefs about the impact of pupil numbers on school finances....