Nearly half of academy trust leaders plan to reduce teacher staffing as financial pressures persist, a survey has found.
The Confederation of School Trusts (CST) survey shows that 49 per cent of chief executives planned to reduce teacher full-time equivalent (FTE) staffing to mitigate financial pressures in 2026-27.
And 52 per cent planned to reduce teaching assistant FTE staffing, the polling with Edurio found.
Financial sustainability
Financial sustainability has also fallen from being trusts’ top strategic priority, with 47 per cent naming it among their five priorities, down from 64 per cent the previous year.
But three-quarters of trust CEOs still say balancing budgets will be a financial focus this year, and 55 per cent say they need to focus on cost reduction.
Just under two-thirds say they were very or quite confident about their trust’s financial sustainability - the highest proportion since 2022 - despite half expecting their reserves to fall over the coming year.
Falling pupil numbers were the most commonly cited financial risk (59 per cent), followed by special educational needs and disabilities costs (43 per cent) and teaching staff costs (35 per cent).
More than a third of CEOs also say they lacked important information needed to set an accurate budget.
SEND priorities
Quality of education was the most commonly selected strategic priority (61 per cent), followed by inclusion (61 per cent) and pupil outcomes (48 per cent).
Among trusts prioritising education quality, three-quarters said inclusion and SEND provision would be a focus ahead of attendance (61 per cent).
More than three-quarters were considering additional SEND training for staff ahead of the government’s flagship reforms, with just over half wanting to build specialist resource bases in their schools.
However, 37 per cent of CEOs say they had struggled to fill SEND specialist vacancies in the past academic year.
The CST has taken away from the survey that improving the quality of education - and particularly SEND and inclusion - is at the top of their list for the year ahead.
Leora Cruddas, CST chief executive, said education had returned as a priority after two years in which finance led, but added: “This is not to say school funding is suddenly perfect: intense pressures remain.”
She said: “We are also seeing big changes in how we operate, with a startling growth in the use of AI tools in classrooms and in trust administration.”
RISE gets mixed verdict
There were mixed views of the Department for Education’s Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) programme.
Just over a quarter of CEOs surveyed say at least one school in their trust had been offered targeted RISE support, with 65 per cent of this group saying the advisers appointed were well matched to the school.
However, only 38 per cent of those receiving targeted support said it had been effective in enabling lasting improvements in their schools.
More than half of the CEOs said they had not accessed “universal” RISE support on attainment, SEND and mainstream inclusion.
The survey of 294 academy trust chief executives was carried out by CST and Edurio in June and July.
