“In over 20 years leading schools I have never before been faced with such a shock to our budgets,” said Richard Sheriff, the chief executive officer of the Red Kite Learning Trust of 13 schools in North and West Yorkshire. “We are in the desperate position of having to look at cutting everything from school trips to teaching resources.”
Sheriff is not alone. School leaders across England have spent the past few weeks poring over their balance sheets, trying to make their budgets stretch to accommodate soaring energy costs, a growing wage bill and the impact of mounting inflation on everything.
