Performance Tracker 2025: Schools
Think tank: Institute for Government
Author(s): Amber Dellar
November 6, 2025
This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at the challenges facing the government in meeting its education priorities within budget.
Research conducted since, including by the Institute for Government, shows that educational inequalities across English schools opened up at an alarming rate over this period, with some gaps growing to their widest in a decade. Disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs faced among the greatest setbacks. In this context, Labour’s ambition to close the gaps in outcomes for these groups – a central plank of its ‘opportunity mission’ – represents a major test.
The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system is a source of particular concern. At the time of publication, some children and young people with special educational needs are missing out on support altogether, while soaring costs are putting local authorities’ own financial sustainability at risk. The government is expected to publish a new SEND strategy in 2026.
Falling pupil numbers across England present both a challenge and an opportunity. Schools receive most of their funding on a per-pupil basis, so unfilled classrooms can put further pressure on already stretched budgets. But, if managed well, lower demand could free up resources for that desperately needed SEND provision. Given the fragmented local governance of the school system, effective management of capacity will likely require strategic direction by ministers. Tackling teacher shortages is another government priority but its current plan is unfocused. Even if it met its initial pledge to recruit 6,500 new teachers, it is unclear whether this would in fact meet demand.
Unfortunately for the government, what is clear is that balancing these pressures will be extremely difficult within the budget Labour has set for the coming parliament. This report breaks down the scale of the challenge, looking at: pupil numbers; the SEND and financial pressures facing the education system; staffing; and the performance of schools.
