The Chancellor has delivered the Autumn Budget, and as always, there’s plenty to digest for those of us working in education.

On paper, there are some encouraging announcements, particularly around school sport, early years and apprenticeships. But having worked with education suppliers for more than 16 years, there’s one question I always come back to when these announcements are made.

How much of this money will actually make its way into schools, and how much will they have available to spend?

Because the two things aren’t necessarily the same.

School funding: The headline figures don’t tell the whole story

The Department for Education’s day-to-day spending budget is set at £95 billion for 2026/27, rising to £98.4 billion by 2028/29.

That sounds pretty positive.

However, these are departmental spending figures rather than additional funding going directly into school budgets.

Schools are already dealing with rising staffing costs, increasing SEND demands and the ongoing challenge of balancing their finances.

And that’s an important distinction for businesses selling into education. More government spending doesn’t automatically mean schools will have more money available for resources, technology or external services.

For businesses looking to sell products and services to schools, understanding that distinction is really important.

SEND continues to be a major priority

One area that certainly isn’t going away is SEND.

The government has already made significant commitments to improving SEND provision, although today’s Budget hasn’t delivered a major new funding package specifically for schools.

From my own experience working in school governance, I know just how challenging it can be to balance the needs of pupils with the resources available.

For suppliers offering SEND resources, specialist equipment, training or inclusive learning solutions, there’s clearly demand.

But I think schools will become increasingly selective about what they invest in. Being able to demonstrate a genuine impact on pupils and staff will be more important than ever.

Some interesting opportunities in sport and early years

There were a couple of announcements that caught my attention.

The Budget confirmed an additional £60 million annually towards new PE and Sport partnerships in England from 2027.

There’s also £5 million a year for three years, starting in 2027/28, to improve access to books for pre-school children.

Neither announcement represents a huge increase in individual school purchasing budgets, but both reinforce areas where the government wants to see improvements.

For businesses promoting educational resources to schools, particularly in physical education, literacy and early years, these are developments worth following.

We also saw £100 million committed over two years to expanding local apprenticeship brokerage services, reflecting the government’s continued focus on preparing young people for employment.

That could be particularly interesting for organisations involved in careers education, vocational learning and employer engagement.

So, what does this mean for education suppliers?

I don’t think today’s Budget will suddenly lead to schools spending significantly more money with external suppliers. And I certainly wouldn’t advise businesses to base their 2027 sales forecasts on that assumption.

What I do think it reinforces is the importance of understanding the pressures schools are facing.

If you’re selling into education, it’s worth asking yourself a few questions:

• Are you clearly demonstrating how your product or service improves outcomes?
• Can you show schools where they’re getting value for money?
• Are you reaching the people who actually influence purchasing decisions?

Schools are still buying. We see that through the work we do with education suppliers every day. But with budgets under scrutiny, suppliers need to give school leaders a compelling reason to invest.

We recently explored what actually works when emailing schools, drawing on more than 1,300 education email campaigns. One of the clearest findings was that relevance matters far more than trying to find a perfect day or time to send an email.

And I think the same principle applies here. Understanding what schools need, and communicating how you can help, is going to matter more than ever.

Looking ahead to 2027

My feeling is that 2027 will continue to offer opportunities for education suppliers, particularly those supporting SEND, inclusion, literacy, physical education and careers.

But I don’t think it will necessarily be an easier market.

The businesses that do well will be those that understand what’s happening inside schools, communicate the benefits of their products clearly and make it easy for decision makers to justify a purchase.

More education funding is welcome, of course. But for suppliers, the real question isn’t how much the government announces. It’s how much schools have left to spend once they’ve covered everything else.

And that’s something worth keeping firmly in mind when planning your marketing for next year.

At Buzz Education, we help education suppliers reach teachers, school leaders and decision makers across the UK through targeted email marketing and education data services. If you’re reviewing your marketing plans for 2027, we’d be happy to have a chat.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: HM Treasury, Budget 2026; Institute for Fiscal Studies, Public service spending, plans and pressures.