Per-pupil funding will rise by around 1 per cent in real terms each year, the spending review has confirmed.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves told Parliament that “overall, I am providing a cash uplift of over £4.5 billion a year for additional funding in the core schools budget by the end of the spending review”.

Spending review documents published by the Treasury confirm the core schools budget will rise by £4.7 billion between 2025 and 2028.

However, this equates to £2 billion in real terms, which accounts for anticipated rises in schools’ costs, or around 1.1 per cent extra per pupil.

Once funding for the recently announced extension of free school meals is excluded, “the core schools budget will grow by an average of 0.9 per cent per pupil in real terms each year”, the documents add.

It comes as schools face massive financial pressures.

Documents also show the government will spend around £2.4 billion a year for the next four years on the school rebuilding programme, and £2.3 billion a year by 2029-30 on improving the condition of the school estate.

Reeves also announced £370 million for school-based nurseries, £130 million for facilities for young people to participate in music, sport and drama and for “libraries in our schools”.

Plus Ofsted has got a £20 million funding boost to help staff inspections under its new report card plans.