Wales Budget 2018: Council cuts could hit school funding

This budget is unlikely to relieve existing pressure on schools

Schools are funded by councils, so the money allocated to local government is the key to gauging the impact of this budget on education in Wales' classrooms.

And with all councils facing real-terms cuts, there have been warnings that schools will increasingly have to take the hit with other council services already cut to the bone.

That is not to say that schools have not already felt the squeeze - many have had to cut jobs and courses and are expecting another difficult year.

The latest figures on the level of school reserves gives a clear indication of those pressures which seem to be more acute in secondary schools.

The overall level of school reserves was slightly up this year, driven by an increase in the primary sector.

However, around 40% of secondary schools are carrying a deficit, and the overall level of reserves for secondary schools is in the red for the first time since the government started publishing the data back in 2001.

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It is an indication that many schools have had to dig deep already and this budget is unlikely to ease that pressure.

In many secondary schools, cuts to sixth-form funding are being felt keenly and there were due to be further reductions this year.

But the government says it is "restoring" funding for school sixth-forms to the same level as this year.

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There is an extra £15m from central funds for teacher development and support but we have not had details yet about how exactly that will be spent.

Confirmation that there will be extra money to pay for the teachers' pay award will come as a relief after fears that schools might have to foot the bill themselves.

But what about colleges and universities?

Further education colleges are in dispute with staff about pay and workload and will be looking for enough cash to help ease discussions with the unions and avoid strikes.

Major changes to student finance and the impact on how universities are funded means it is a time of flux in higher education, but that sector too will braced for another testing year financially.