Fewer teaching assistants, no field trips: The sad reality facing British schools

It represents a tragedy for the whole country, writes Peter Lampl

Teachers on the picket line outside Bristol Cathedral School (Ben Birchall/PA) (PA Wire)

Things are tight in schools and getting tighter. Inflation is biting down hard on the ability of headteachers to fund some of the things that matter most. And it is the poorest young people who are suffering most.

These are the headline findings from new research published by the Sutton Trust, which I founded, and based on a poll of more than 1,400 teachers across the country. The picture painted is bleak and saddening, and some of the data is eye-wateringly stark.

Nearly two-thirds of school leaders are reducing the number of teaching assistants they employ, while half report cutting school trips – a figure which rises, depressingly, to 68 per cent in deprived communities.