Schools at 'financial breaking point' say heads

Head teachers across West Sussex say they are at "financial breaking point" because the funding they receive is "no longer sustainable" to meet the high costs of operating in south-east England.

School leaders also say they are in a "recruitment crisis" and are struggling to attract and retain teachers and support staff in an area of the country where house prices and private rents are above the national average.

Members of the West Sussex Secondary Headteachers' Association have written to the government and all of their local MPs calling for urgent meetings about their funding formulas.

The Department for Education has been approached for a response.

Matthew Whatford, head teacher at Imberhorne School, a secondary school and sixth form in East Grinstead, said rising utilities and staffing costs have put "an extraordinary strain on what is already an incredibly challenging budget position".

He says: "It means we're having to make incredibly difficult decisions about the curriculum provision we have, around our extracurricular provision.

"It means that we are struggling to recruit and retain specialist staff and that ultimately means that students are at risk of having a provision that is not as strong as it might be if they were in a different authority."

The association says the area cost adjustment for West Sussex is "fundamentally flawed" and while neighbours in Surrey and parts of Buckinghamshire have seen significant uplifts, West Sussex has been overlooked.

An association spokesperson said: "West Sussex is treated as if it has the same cost base and cost of living as the least expensive regions in the north of England."

Head teachers from across the county say they have a "profound and growing concern" regarding the "chronic underfunding" of schools which sees West Sussex remaining one of the lowest-funded local authorities in the country despite a local campaign, Worth Less?, running for almost a decade.

In 2026/27 West Sussex schools have the fifth lowest secondary unit of funding (the amount a school receives per pupil per academic year) in England of £7,125.58, compared to an England average £7,679.90 and a South East average of £7,360.89.

In West Sussex primary schools have the seventh lowest unit of funding of £5,511.74 compared to an England average of £5,931.78 and a South East average of £5,662.72.

In the letter they said: "Even with recent incremental increases, the 'uplift' has been swallowed by rising energy costs, unfunded pay awards, and the soaring costs of SEND provision.

"We are effectively running up a down-escalator."

Added to that, head teachers say in districts like Chichester and Mid Sussex, the average house price is now 11 to 12 times the average annual salary, far exceeding the national affordability ratio.

Private rents in the county have risen by an average of 4% annually, with the average monthly rent in Mid Sussex now reaching £1,395.

The head teachers' letter says: "For our staff, particularly early-career teachers and support staff, living within a reasonable distance of their workplace is becoming a financial impossibility.

"This further contributes to the recruitment and retention crisis that directly impacts the stability and quality of education for our pupils."

Their letter to the government and their MPs calls for them to meet with their local school leaders to discuss reviewing the area cost adjustment for West Sussex, to call for a minimum per-student funding level and for sustainable long-term investment to move away from "sticking plaster" grants and allow strategic planning.

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