Elephant in the Classroom

News of parents being asked to stump up so that the little darlings may continue their progressive indoctrination has been seized, gleefully, by the BBC, as another stick with which to beat the wicked Tories.  No matter that following a massive (global) recession and necessary period of financial retrenchment, schools funding has, at least, been maintained in real terms (“we have protected the core schools budget overall in real terms since 2010, and put an additional £1.3 billion into core schools funding across 2018-19 and 2019-20, over and above plans set out last spending review”).  Compared to the treatment of the Armed Forces, Police, and Justice, to name but three, this seems to be a pretty good achievement by the Department of Education.  But, wails the Institute of Fiscal Studies, school spending per pupil in England fell by 8% between 2008/9 and 2017/8. So, if overall real terms funding is being maintained and the spend per pupil is decreasing the other significant variable in the equation is obvious.  Bet the BBC don’t mention that elephant in the classroom?