Dorset’s schools set to receive a £7.1m cut to spending power

Schools in Dorset are set to be hit with a £7.1m cut to spending power in 2024/25 data from the National Education Union (NEU) reveals.

It means that funding per pupil in Dorset will be cut by £167 in 2024/25 compared with 2023/24. There are 145 schools in Dorset. 125 of which will have less spending power in 2024/25 as a result of these funding cuts. For Primary schools in Dorset, there will be a £2.6m reduction in spending power per pupil over the next financial year, and in Secondary schools there will be a £233 fall in spending power per pupil.

Dorset’s Liberal Democrats have warned that the fall in spending power will push already stretched school budgets to the brink, with a worse educational experience for pupils and worse outcomes. It comes as new data released in January shows that this Conservative Government has cut the annual growth in funding in cash terms from 8% in 2023/4 to 3.1% in 2024/5. 

The Lib Dems are calling for the Government to review school funding after the IFS has concluded that the purchasing power of school budgets in 2024 will still be about 4% lower than in 2010.

Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesperson for North Dorset, Gary Jackson said:

“This Conservative government has failed Dorset’s children. Parents in our community should not have to send their children to schools which have had their funding decimated by a Conservative government that has lost interest in providing high-quality education.

“Investing in education is investing in our future but this Conservative government has let school buildings crumble and overseen a severe shortage of teachers. Far from preparing the next generation for the future, Ministers have totally abandoned them.

“The Liberal Democrats know that investment in education boosts our children’s futures. The Treasury needs to urgently look at increasing school funding".