Funding and SEND top challenges for governors, report finds

6 key findings from the National Governance Association's annual survey

Freddie Whittaker

1. Balancing budget 鈥榯op challenge鈥�

Respondents were asked to name the top three challenges they faced in their roles.

Sixty per cent said balancing their budget, up from 52 per cent last year and 44 per cent the year before. The NGA said this was the highest proportion since its survey began.

Just 19 per cent of respondents said they perceived themselves as financially sustainable in the medium to long-term. Last year this stood at 18 per cent.

2. Some schools suffering more than others

But the financial strain is 鈥渘ot evenly distributed across the education sector, with nursery and primary schools reporting more challenges鈥�, the NGA found.

Those governing in maintained schools 鈥渁ppear to be facing the greatest challenge with balancing the budget (46 per cent), compared to 29 per cent of MAT trustees鈥�.

But this 鈥渕ay partly be explained by far more primaries being maintained schools compared to secondary鈥�.

3. Fears over SEND skyrocket

The proportion of respondents citing support for children with SEND as a top challenge leapt from 24 per cent last year to 37 per cent this year.

It means the issue leapfrogged attendance to become the second most cited challenge for governors and trustees.

Asked what was posing the greatest challenge in providing support, 74 per cent said access to funding, up from 66 per cent last year.

4. Falling rolls hit finances

Primary pupil numbers nationally have been falling for several years, and secondary numbers will soon peak and start to drop off.

Because funding is allocated on a per-pupil basis, schools with falling rolls receive less funding each year.

Thirty-nine per cent of respondents to the NGA survey said their finances had been impacted by falling rolls, and 23 per cent said they had not been impacted but were worried about the issue in the near future.

There was more concern among primary schools (45 per cent) than secondary schools (23 per cent).

5. Half say support for families has increased

Schools Week has reported extensively on the increasing trend of schools providing support to hard-up families as other services around them crumble, despite their own budget woes.

Fifty-one per cent of respondents to the NGA鈥檚 survey reported that their school had increased the additional support offered to pupils and their families in the past year.

The most common support was pre-loved or second-hand uniform provision (75 per cent), wraparound before and after school care (62 per cent) and breakfast provision (52 per cent).

6. Governance still has an age and ethnicity problem

The proportion of respondents aged 60 and over has reached its highest level since the survey began.

Fifty-two per cent of governors are now 60 and above, it suggests, while over 9 per cent are under 40 and just 1 per cent are under 30.

The NGA said the 鈥渟ignificant underrepresentation of younger perspectives in school and trust governance鈥� continued.

Of those who disclosed their ethnicity, 95 per cent identified as white, 鈥渦nderscoring the stubborn lack of ethnic diversity in governance roles and the risk that boards are often not reflective of the communities they serve鈥�.

The recommendations

Prioritise financial sustainability by reallocating funds from falling rolls to pupil premium and per-pupil funding
Invest in school buildings
Reform SEND funding
Address SEND provision gaps using the SEND green paper and improve training for mainstream staff
Combat child poverty and expand family services by tackling unmet needs beyond breakfast clubs
Develop creative staffing solutions for teacher shortages and falling pupil numbers
Invest in governance by raising its profile, promoting diversity, and supporting governors and trustees