DfE spending on influencers exceeds £700K over two years

The Department for Education has spent more than £700,000 on “influencer” marketing in the past two years, prompting accusations that it operates “in an alternate reality” from schools.

The costs are even higher than those previously disclosed to Tes in a freedom of information request that had revealed a 15-fold increase in spending on influencers since 2022.

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “The DfE is clearly increasingly taken by the idea of influencer marketing but we would seriously question whether this is a sensible use of public money.

“It may extend the ‘reach’ of social media campaigns designed to raise awareness of various initiatives but it is a pretty ephemeral form of engagement to say the least.”

The figures emerged in a response from early education minister Olivia Bailey to a written parliamentary question, in which she revealed that the total spend on influencer marketing during the 2025-26 financial year was £589,671, up from £119,300 the previous year.

This is substantially more than the £80,950 that the DfE had previously told Tes was spent in the 2024-25 financial year, as well as the £204,725 it said was spent between April and October 2025.

The DfE declined to explain this when approached.

“At a time when our schools and colleges are running on empty, the fact that the DfE is spending large sums on influencer marketing gives the impression that it is operating in an alternate reality,” Mr Di’Iasio said.

The latest figures reflect “the full costs attributed to influencer activity for each campaign, which may include fees, production and paid-media costs”, Ms Bailey’s parliamentary answer states. The funds were used for campaigns, including for teacher recruitment.

In May, school leaders reacted furiously when the DfE posted videos in collaboration with reality TV personality Gemma Collins promoting vocational education options. The DfE insisted that she was not paid for her appearances. It has since clarified that there were costs relating to internal staff time, but said it is unable to quantify this.

Since then, the government has decided to ban social media for under-16s, following the example of Australia. Tes has asked the government whether it will continue to invest in influencers, in light of its concerns about social media.

For Laura Trott, the Conservatives’ shadow education secretary, the DfE’s spending on influencers shows that education secretary Bridget Phillipson’s priorities are “all wrong”.

Ms Trott told Tes: “She can find hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money for social media influencers, yet she is quietly stripping away opportunities for disadvantaged children.

“Having quietly axed programmes including the PE Premium, the Latin Excellence Programme and computing initiatives, this government is pulling up the drawbridge and leaving children with fewer opportunities.”

‘Kick in the teeth’ for teachers

Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrats’ spokesperson for education, children and families, said: “Every single penny of this money should be going directly to the children in our schools, not funding government PR campaigns.

“Schools deserve to know that education funding is being spent in the classroom, not propping up online influencers.”

She added: “The government’s priorities are completely out of whack with the facts on the ground - parents and teachers are crying out for more funding, and this revelation is a kick in the teeth to them both.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Influencer marketing allows us to reach audiences where they are, in a much more cost-effective way than traditional marketing techniques.

“Every penny is focused on making a tangible difference to people’s lives, whether it’s campaigns to recruit the teachers and early years professionals our education system badly needs or making sure that parents know about the childcare and cost-of-living support available to them.

“More and more people are getting their news and information from social media. We want everyone to hear from government and ensure no one misses out on schemes they are eligible for.”