Funding campaign

ASCL campaigns for sufficiency of revenue and capital funding for every school and college. 

We work to highlight the financial pressures faced by the sector and the impact on provision, and we lobby policymakers to allocate funding that recognises the real costs faced by schools and colleges.

Over the course of several years, our work – alongside other organisations – has helped to secure major concessions from governments.

However, funding continues to fall short of what is needed, and ASCL continues to work with partners to fight for a better deal for education.

Funding survey
Between 2 and 12 September 2025, we conducted a funding survey with ASCL members to help inform our discussions with the government. Read the results here.
 

Ahead of the government’s spending review in June 2025, ASCL submitted a detailed submission to the Treasury setting out four key priorities: end child poverty; rescue the special educational needs system; address the education funding crisis for schools and colleges; fix school and college buildings. 

One of our ‘asks’ was for the extension of free school meals to all families in receipt of universal credit. The government has now committed to doing this from the start of the 2026 school year. 

It also confirmed that its intended approach to SEND reform will be set out in a Schools White Paper in autumn 2025.

ASCL welcomed the small real-terms increase in the core schools budget announced in the spending review. 

However, schools are already having to make significant cuts and we do not believe this will change that situation in the short-term and won't be enough to reverse this situation in the longer term either. We remain particularly concerned about the inadequacy of funding for FE and sixth form colleges, and for school sixth forms.

Further information
Spending review 2025, HM Treasury
ASCL spending review briefing paper
 

ASCL is part of the Stop School Cuts coalition alongside the National Education Union, the National Association of Head Teachers, the National Governance Association, and Parentkind. 

The coalition provides a powerful and united voice, bringing together school and college leaders, teachers, governors, trustees, and parents in common cause. 

The Stop School Cuts website uses 2010 as a baseline for education funding and looks at whether schools – individually and locally – have suffered cuts in comparison to that baseline when taking into account the additional costs they have faced. 

This enables us to provide a comprehensive picture of the real pressures faced by schools. 

Visit the Stop Schools Cuts website.
 

We lobby policymakers regularly over school and college funding, and welcome examples from ASCL members of the financial pressures they are facing, which we use anonymously in discussions. These real-life examples are incredibly helpful in demonstrating to ministers and officials the reality on the ground.

Please contact us at tellus@ascl.org.uk.