Leaked papers suggest £4 billion in extra funding for schools and academy takeover incentives

Leaked Government documents suggest that schools are set to receive a £3.5 billion funding boost to “reverse cuts” in the education sector.

The papers, seen by the Guardian and the BBC, also point to a crackdown on student behaviour, incentives for academy conversions, more free schools and plans to increase teachers’ basic pay.

According to experts, the additional cash could go a long way in addressing the worsening budget crisis for schools, which have suffered budgets reductions of around eight per cent since 2010.

In total, £2.8 billion will be allocated to primary and secondary schools up to the age of 16, while £800 million will be reserved for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The leaked papers also reference an additional £800 million for sixth form and further education colleges, but this component is yet to be approved by the Treasury.

An increase in pay for teachers will also be widely welcomed, with starting salaries set to rise to £30,000 by 2022.

The documents also reveal plans to offer academy trusts £24,000 in incentives to take over struggling and under-performing schools.

Commenting on the papers, a Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson said: “The prime minister has made clear that we will increase minimum levels of per pupil funding in primary and secondary schools and make real terms increases to education funding. We will be announcing more details in due course.”

Welcoming the additional investment in education, Geoff Barton, leader of the ASCL head teachers’ union, said: “It must be the start of a long-term phased uplift in funding to reverse education cuts and repair the damage that they have caused.

“We have worked with other education organisations to calculate that £12.6bn is needed by 2022-23 across early years, primary and secondary schools, 16-19 education and high needs.”