Autumn Budget 2024: What it means for education
Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, delivered the Autumn Budget earlier this week. In her speech, she announced new funding for schools to support the government’s plans to accelerate teacher recruitment, repair unsafe school buildings, and break down barriers to education.
To help you stay up to date with the latest education funding, we’ve pulled out the key announcements for schools as outlined in the Chancellor’s speech and government updates. Let’s take a look:
Core Schools Budget
The core schools budget is set to increase by £2.3 billion next year. This increase in funding for schools will support the government’s plans to recruit thousands more teachers and improve the SEND provision.
Department for Education
The government will provide £6.7 billion of capital investment to the DfE next year. This marks a 19% real-terms increase on this year. This funding includes:
- £1.4 billion for the School Rebuilding Programme – This funding allocation will ensure the existing School Rebuilding Programme is successfully delivered and unsafe schools are rebuilt.
- School Maintenance – £2.1 billion will be allocated to improving school maintenance, an increase of £300 million compared with this year.
SEND Provision
- Out of the £2.3 billion increase in funding for the core schools budget, £1 billion will go towards improving the special educational needs provision. This funding will be used to improve outcomes for vulnerable children and develop a financially sustainable system, and represents a 6% real-terms increase on this year.
Further Education
An additional £300 million will be allocated to further education to help prepare young people for work and life.
Government-funded childcare and school-based nurseries
- The government has confirmed £1.8 billion in funding to help with the expansion of government-funded childcare, with an additional £15 million of capital funding to support the expansion of school-based nurseries.
Breakfast Clubs
- The government will triple the amount it invests in school breakfast clubs to over £30 million to support pupils and families from disadvantaged backgrounds, help improve children’s behaviour, increase attendance rates and boost attainment.
Keep an eye out for further funding for schools
Supporting the education sector and young people is a key priority for the government in 2025. Further funding for schools may be announced over the coming months so to stay up to date with the latest education news, make sure to keep an eye on our blog posts.
You can access the Chancellor’s full speech here, and for more information on the government’s education plans, check out their website here.