THE government was accused yesterday of “failing a generation of children” after a damning new report revealed that schools need at least £12.2 billion in extra funding to undo the damage caused by 14 years of Tory cuts.

It found that 70 per cent of state-maintained schools have suffered real-terms cuts since 2010 and demands action in Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s forthcoming Budget announcement.

NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said: “The effects of 14 years of austerity imposed by this Conservative government are clear for all to see.

“We have the largest class sizes in Europe. In September, children in more than 100 schools couldn’t start school on time because ceilings were falling in and posing a risk to their lives.

“This neglect of education services has failed an entire generation of children; the government must not fail another. We need to see substantial investment at the upcoming spring Budget.”  

ASCL general secretary Geoff Barton said education should be a priority in the Budget to give schools and colleges adequate investment and address “the worsening condition of buildings and the growing crisis in special educational needs funding.”  

NAHT leader Paul Whiteman called for “a sustained commitment from government to ensure all schools are equipped with the resources they need to offer all pupils a fulfilling and safe education.”

The report appears on the School Cuts website, which is run by the National Education Union (NEU), Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) and National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and supported by the Parentkind  charity and school governors’ body the National Governance Association.

A DfE spokesperson said: “Our well-established methodology, confirmed by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, shows that overall school funding is rising to more than £59.6 billion next year – the highest ever level in real terms per pupil.

“The NEU’s analysis fails to take into account the significant investment into the high needs budget, which will have risen to £10.5 billion next year – an increase of over 60% to since 2019/20.”