Education Spending: Where in the UK receives the most (and least) funding?

The Education Policy Institute believes £13.5bn is needed to help pupils catch up on missed education because of the pandemic. But where does the country currently stand on expenditure per pupil?

New research from Promethean analysed the latest government spending data to find out where receives the most and least funding per pupil, as well as where spending has increased and decreased the most in the last five years.

Specifically, it was those boroughs in Inner London which most commonly had a high level of spending, with Islington followed by the likes of Lewisham, Tower Hamlets, Camden, and Hackney, likely due to the higher salaries of teachers, but also due to increased social deprivation in these areas.

It’s clear that it’s pupils in London who enjoy the greatest funding in the country, with eight of the top ten highest-spending areas located in the capital, with Islington being the highest, at £8,105 per pupil. The only two areas from outside London in the top ten were Knowsley (£6,106 per pupil), on Merseyside, and North Tyneside (£5,751 per pupil), in the North East.

The area with the lowest spend was England’s smallest county, Rutland, with a net expenditure of £1,489 per pupil. That’s 137% less per pupil than in Islington, London.

Two London boroughs fell into the ten areas with the lowest spend per pupil too: Bromley (£1,599 per person) and Bexley (£1,599 per person).

The area with the lowest spend was England’s smallest county, Rutland and while this can perhaps partially be attributed to the area’s very low population (just under 8,000 pupils, the third-lowest in the country), the county still comes bottom when we take pupil numbers into account as well.

The 'per-pupil spend' includes pupils in early years education, primary schools, secondary schools, special schools and alternative education, and post-16 education. Pupil numbers included all pupils in state-funded schools, aged 3-19, for the year 2019-20.

Where Spending Has Increased The Most

Five London boroughs fell in the top ten areas with the biggest spending increase, with Hillingdon increasing the most, from £162 million in 2014-15, to just under £195 million in 2019-29, an increase of 20%. Followed by Richmond Upon Thames.

Where Spending Has Decreased The Most

Aside from the Isles of Scilly, which are something of an outlier due to their very low population, the area where spending has decreased the most is Kingston upon Hull, which saw expenditure drop by half (50.35%) in the last five years.

Interestingly, despite previously highlighting that spending per pupil is much higher in London than in other parts of the country, two London boroughs fell into the ten areas with the lowest spend per pupil too: Bromley (£1,599 per person) and Bexley (£1,599 per person)

Ben Brown, Head of Market Development and Strategic Relationships at Promethean commented:

“The evolving needs of students mean that analysing how much investment students are receiving is critical. Innovation in education technology will change the way education is administered and consumed, enabling educators to deliver the best possible learning experiences they can with the resource available to them.

Our recent state of technology report identified that almost half of educators (49%) identify budgets as the main reason there’s not more training provided by their school, technological training becoming more widely available for teachers and expenditure into updated tech will be significant in ensuring they are able to utilize fully the technology that is available and provide pupils with important learning skills.”

You can view the full research, including where spending has increased and decreased the most, by clicking here.