Department for Education defends spending £700,000 on influencers

The Department for Education has claimed it has spent more than £700,000 on “influencer marketing” in the last two years. The figures, released in response to a parliamentary question last month, show the department has allocated £119,300 in the 2024/25 financial year and a further £589,671 for 2025/26. This spending has come under harsh criticism, with the Conservative Party arguing that it highlights significant misjudgments in Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson’s priorities.

But the DfE said: “Influencer marketing allows us to reach target audiences where they are in a much more cost-effective way than traditional marketing techniques.

“Whether it’s campaigns to recruit the teachers and early childhood professionals our education system desperately needs, or ensuring parents are informed about the childcare and living expenses support available to them, every penny is focused on making a tangible difference in people’s lives.

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

Examples of campaigns include paid ads featuring influencers with tens or hundreds of thousands of followers about funded child care and teaching careers.

A Government source said: “The Government has always spent money advertising programs available to people, whether it be free breakfast clubs in its area or job opportunities in teaching.

“In the past this was done through magazine ads or billboards, but with changing trends we are shifting more of this funding to social media where we can reach a lot more people.

“For many people, and especially those who don’t always watch the news, seeing a video of an influencer they follow may be the first time they learn about a new child care initiative they’re eligible for.”

Shadow education secretary Laura Trott told Tes magazine that the spending showed Ms Phillipson’s priorities were “completely wrong”.

“It may cost hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money for social media influencers, but it is quietly eliminating opportunities for disadvantaged children,” he said.

“By quietly canceling programs like PE Premium, the Latino Excellence Program, and computing initiatives, this Government is removing the drawbridge and leaving children with fewer opportunities.”

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

In May, Ms Phillipson was forced to defend her move to feature reality TV star Gemma Collins in a series of DfE social media posts.

The former The Only Way Is Essex star is seen walking around departmental offices in a series of clips, including one asking “what are we doing to help children?” he asked the question. Music by The Devil Wears Prada.

The department said Collins was not paid for the meetings or assignments and that the associated costs relate solely to internal staff time.

Responding to the criticism, Ms Phillipson told Matt Chorley on BBC Radio 5 Live: “I have to go back to this point in a lot of the comments I’ve seen on social media and elsewhere… there’s a big dose of snobbery here – ‘What does he have to offer? What does he have to contribute?’ – I have to question why people say this and I think it’s snobbery.

“It could reach some of the audiences that we want to reach, to let them know what the government is trying to do to work with them.”

Early last month, early education minister Olivia Bailey responded to a written question from Conservative MP Mike Wood about how much has been spent on influencers since July 2024.

It provided the figures and said they “reflect all costs attributed to influencer activity for each campaign, which can include fees, production and paid media costs depending on how each campaign is sourced, delivered and retained as of the financial year.”

The department’s total marketing spend in 2024/25 was £51 million and it anticipates the 2025/26 figure will be broadly in line with this amount.