School leaders have voiced concerns about an increasingly precarious funding situation this year as energy bills soar.
Meanwhile, teachers and charities have called for the government to introduce universal free school meals amid fears that hunger will be the “single biggest challenge” as children return to classrooms in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, where the autumn term began two weeks ago, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation warned that the cost-of-living crisis could have a “devastating” impact on the attainment gap.
