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Schools face a funding black hole of up to £4.4billion after they were ordered to foot the bill for a generous teacher pay rise, it has been claimed. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson was accused of "pushing schools to the brink", following warnings that heads are being forced to cut staff numbers.

The total shortfall could reach £4.4billion over three years, after the Department for Education set out plans for a 6.5% pay rise between 2026-27 and 2028-29. The potential cost was revealed in research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats. Ministers have not said how the increase will be funded.

But the Government forced schools to contribute to the cost of a 4% pay rise in 2025-26 - saying they must pay a quarter of the increase, estimated at £350million, from "improved productivity and smarter spending", which Lib Dems say is code for cuts.

And a Department for Education document setting out spending plans up to 2029 suggests that schools will be expected to pay for future pay rises through "better value from existing spending".

Caroline Voaden, the party's schools spokesperson, said: "The Conservatives left our schools in dire straits, but this government is pushing our schools to the brink of collapse by forcing them to yet again raid classroom budgets to plug a multi-billion pound funding black hole."

The National Education Union claims that schools face a "funding crisis". It has criticised the previous Conservative government but says the current Labour Government has failed "to reverse the cuts".

NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said: "Schools are running on empty. The funding crisis in our schools is the scandal that will not go away, no matter how much the Education Secretary buries her head in the sand.

"She wants schools to find 'efficiencies' in their existing budget to pay for an already inadequate pay offer, but this is fantasy land. After years of underfunding, there is nothing left to cut.

"This is the uncomfortable reality that the Government simply will not face. Far from there being 'efficiency' savings to be made, frontline services which are visible to parents are already being cut.

"The Government is failing families. It is indefensible to continue to underfund schools. It is impossible for schools to meet the Government's ambitions on SEND support. It is unsustainable to offer pay rises without extra money."

A document titled Schools Costs, published by the Department for Education in March, suggested that schools will need to raid existing budgets to fund staff pay rises.

It said: "Although we can only estimate the headroom over the first two years, it is clear from our analysis that schools will need to realise and sustain better value from existing spending - supported by guidance, offers, and wider measures to tackle national drivers of cost through the new Maximising Value for Schools Programme - to support the creation of additional headroom to improve the manageability of a 6.5% pay increase over the three years."

Charity the Sutton Trust has warned that schools are already cutting back on staff and reducing help for pupils with special needs as they struggle to balance the books.

Pupils are being given less choice about the subjects they study at GCSE and A level, with more options becoming unavailable.

The survey of 1,105 heads, conducted for the charity by the National Foundation for Educational Research, revealed seven in 10 schools have cut teaching assistants, half have cut support staff and three in ten have cut teacher numbers.

It revealed four in 10 had cut funding for pupils with special educational needs (SEND), casting doubt on government plans to provide more support in mainstream schools and reducing reliance on special schools.

And three in 10 heads reported cuts to subject choices at GCSE, with just under three in 10 saying they had cut A-level options.

The Department for Education rejected the Lib Dem claims. A spokesperson said: "We do not recognise this figure. The process to set teacher pay rises is still ongoing, and this government has taken action to boost teacher pay to restore teaching as the highly valued profession it should be.

"Despite deeply challenging choices about public spending, we have continued to prioritise education by putting record investment into our schools to improve the life chances of children in all corners of the country.

"In 2026-27 the core schools budget will total £67 billion - an increase of £1.7bn from 2025-26. Funding will continue to increase over the next three years - including the significant additional investment we are injecting into schools budgets to make our SEND reforms a reality."