In the latest survey of National Education Union members, conducted ahead of Annual Conference in Brighton, 11,007 teacher members gave us their views on the present state of school funding.
We found that:
- Just 1 per cent of teachers working in primary schools, nurseries, special schools and PRUs said they had ‘definitely enough’ funding for staffing. This rose to 2 per cent in secondary schools.
- 53 per cent of teachers think there is ‘definitely not enough’ money in their school budget for staffing levels to meet basic provision. In primary schools, this is even more widely felt by closer to two-thirds of respondents (63 per cent)
- A majority of teachers responding to our survey (66 per cent) told us their setting is reliant on donations and fundraising to supplement funding. This is used to cover basic running costs as well as toward building repair, new equipment and school trips.
- Teachers in the more deprived schools are more likely to tell us that their school cannot afford to run extracurricular activities and also that their parents are less likely to be able to supplement this through donations.
- Teachers report ‘severe’ issues with their school buildings, including overheating in summer for one in three (33 per cent). Poor ventilation continues to be an issue for 54 per cent, and for leaks from the rain 66 per cent.
- Very little progress has been made for school buildings since the questions were last asked in 2024, putting the focus back on successive governments’ slow action in prioritising the school estate.
Basic provision
Our survey shows that funding shortages are hitting key aspects of schools’ basic provision. We asked if teachers felt their setting had enough funding to meet basic need.
SEND is the key concern for teachers, at the top of a sorry list of essentials that are being starved of appropriate funding. More than two thirds (68 per cent) told us that their school, college or nursery had ‘definitely not enough’ support for SEND, which is echoed throughout other parts of the State of Education survey. A further 23 per cent said they had ‘not quite enough’, leaving a combined 9 per cent saying ‘just about enough’ or ‘definitely enough’.
Less than one in five (18 per cent) were content with staffing levels, but 53 per cent of teachers overall told us that staffing was ‘definitely not enough’ to meet basic provision. This is felt most acutely in primary schools where 63 per cent shared this concern. The overriding worry for government, however, should be that just 2 per cent of teachers in secondary schools say that staffing levels are ‘definitely enough’, dropping to 1 per cent in all other phases.
Not one category saw a positive majority verdict, peaking at just 35 per cent for the availability of classroom resources. In every category a minimum of two-thirds of respondents said they felt under-equipped to deliver education.
We received many comments expressing concern about the results of this funding crisis:
"One adult trying to cater for too many high-needs children in one class, means they are not getting what they need and leads to one exhausted teacher."
"In our mainstream secondary school we have 26 per cent SEND. We cannot provide support for all SEND at all times so children have to go without which is unfair and means they don’t necessarily achieve the outcomes we would want for them."
"Mostly, a lack of funding impacts our most vulnerable children. No adult support, no physical resources, no enrichment or immersive learning opportunities. This ultimately affects me as a teacher when I am scrutinised for the data and outcomes of these children that need more and get less."
Plugging the gaps
According to the results of this survey, a majority of schools in all phases now turn to donations or fundraising to cover the essentials.
In primaries, 80 per cent of teacher respondents told us that donations and fundraising are a source of income for some or all of the following: school trips, building maintenance, equipment, and day-to-day running costs. This is also the case in just over half of secondary schools (51 per cent) and special schools or PRUs (54 per cent). This averages out to two-thirds of all state schools (66 per cent)
This reliance on donations clearly reflects underfunding across state education. It may also reflect a greater facility on the part of primary schools to elicit donations from within the parents and communities they serve, which tend to be smaller and more engaged than in secondary schools with their larger pupil populations.
We received many comments on this issue:
“We used to fundraise for charities in our community; we now fundraise to buy school supplies. Every teacher is responsible for running one fundraising event every half term to raise money to buy reading books for their class.”
“We had to sell our minibus because we couldn't even afford the maintenance costs, so now we can't take our students with physical disabilities out on trips.”
“Last year a parent had to donate a large sum so a prom could go ahead.”
There is also a link to levels of deprivation, with those schools in the wealthier communities better able to raise money. Extra money from the pupil premium does not make up for this. This is most stark in relation to capital spending such as buildings and equipment. 40 per cent of teachers in areas of low deprivation said they could rely on donations/ fundraising to plug that gap, but in the most disadvantaged areas this falls to just 19 per cent.
“Our parents cannot afford to supplement us in this way, so the children have to miss out.”
“We are not in a community where we can rely on fundraising, but we are in a financial deficit.”
“I have had to personally buy things like glue sticks and pens this year as the budget is gone.”
Buildings in Disrepair
The conditions in which teachers teach and young people learn are a continuing concern. We asked teachers to identify the issues in their own school.
A third of teachers (33 per cent) describe overheating in the summer as a ‘severe’ problem and is a factor for a further 51 per cent. Poor ventilation continues to be an issue for 54 per cent, and for leaks from the rain 66 per cent.
The findings are broadly the same as in 2024, with only minor fluctuation in most categories. Levels of mould/damp appear to have improved somewhat, from 46 per cent two years ago to 38 per cent today, although this is still alarmingly high given the impact mould can have on children’s health. Poor ventilation is down from 60 per cent to 54 per cent, still leaving a significant issue for most schools.
Teachers told us:
“The place is slowly falling to pieces... The roof leaks regularly when it rains heavily... A false ceiling tile disintegrated and fell on a colleague's head last year."
“Rats in corridors, rats in staff offices and ran over desks. Students’ toilets always backing up or blocked."
“Our science labs have sockets and gas taps that do not function. We sometimes have to rely on kettles for heating, but they sometimes trip the electrics...makes doing practical work almost impossible.”
“The hot water in the staff toilets comes out brown and the sinks back up with sewage.”
Commenting on the findings of the survey, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“Schools are running on empty. When even basic provision cannot be met without having to shake a collection tin, then it is obvious this government and successive governments have failed parents, teachers, leaders and above all, young people. Pupils in schools whose communities cannot afford to subsidise them are the ones who miss out.
“It is now a generation ago that the Conservatives took a scythe to the Building Schools for the Future programme. The education sector has never really recovered. Pupils and staff should not be expected to work in buildings that cannot be heated properly in winter or kept cool in summer, where vermin, leaks and mould are a familiar sight. Serious investment in the school estate is badly overdue.
“The NEU is consulting school staff in an indicative ballot on pay and school funding. The government have told schools to make efficiency savings to cover staff pay rises, but after 15 years of austerity there is nothing more to cut. The sooner the government recognises that schools cannot make cuts without affecting the quality of education the better.”
Editor’s Note
The online survey of National Education Union members was conducted between 5-16 February 2026.
We received responses from teachers, support staff and other members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This release focuses on the responses from 10,311 teachers and 2,996 support staff in English state schools, reweighted by personal and professional characteristics in line with data from the most recent School Workforce Census.
Deprivation is calculated using IDACI bands, band 1 corresponds to the least deprived schools and band 5 to the most.
For reweighting purposes, teachers in state-funded primary and state-funded nursery schools are counted together, as this is how they are recorded in the School Workforce Census. However, state nursery teachers represent only 0.3% of the primary and nursery sample, and so although the group name is used in full in the charts, we mostly refer to this group as “primary” in the text.