Background Investment in schools is a potentially important determinant of both educational attainment and health. However, little is known about the consequences of the significant changes to school investment in England over recent years, with the introduction of the National Funding Formula in 2018/19 and the additional funding received by schools during the pandemic. In the context of increasing inequalities in child health and educational attainment, we assessed trends in inequalities in education spending, as a precursor to understanding health impacts.

Methods We conducted a longitudinal analysis of spending on schools in England between 2014/15 and 2021/22. We used mixed-effects models to assess trends and inequalities using routinely available school-level data aggregated to lower-tier local authority level. We present the estimated relative and absolute changes in total inflation-adjusted school spending per pupil. We assess associations with deprivation and geography, and further consider source, type, and deficits in education spending.

Results Spending per pupil declined from 2014/15 to 2018/19 and then increased to 2021/22. There was an overall 4.2% reduction, from £5,629 to £5,394, over the study period. Trends varied by level of deprivation. School spending per pupil in the most deprived and the second most deprived areas declined annually by £40 (95% CI -£54 -£26) and £29 (95% CI -£42 -£16) per pupil compared to schools in least deprived areas. The overall decline in the most deprived quintile was 6.6%, compared to 2.4% in least deprived areas. Spending per pupil was greater in London compared to other regions, and for primary schools compared to secondary schools. Primary school spending returned to 2014/15 levels at the end of the study period, except for primary schools in the most deprived quintile, while secondary school spending declined across all deprivation quintiles. The share of school funding from self-generated sources increased by about 1.2 percentage points to 4.9%, while 24% of the local authorities in 2020/21 had schools with more spending deficits than surplus.

Conclusion Funding for schools in England has been cut over the last decade, with clear geographical inequalities. These cuts have particularly impacted secondary schools in deprived areas outside London. While funding for primary schools has increased since the introduction of the national funding formula, inequalities remain. These patterns are concerning in the context of rising geographical inequalities in educational attainment and given recent inflationary pressures impacting school spending. More research is needed to understand the impacts of these spending cuts on attainment and health.