Funding shortfalls and falling school rolls are putting teachers and leaders’ jobs at risk and threatening children’s education in the South West, a leading union is warning ahead of the Budget.
More than four in 10 (41%) of school leaders in the South West who responded to a national survey of more than 5,000 members by school leaders’ union NAHT say either redundancies, a restructure, or both, have been consulted upon or discussed at their school.
When asked to identify the reasons, nearly four in five (79%) of respondents in the region cited insufficient funding, while 60% said falling rolls were playing a part – with funding heavily linked to pupil numbers.
An overwhelming majority (92%) of all survey respondents in England said that school funding had worsened or greatly worsened in the last 12 months, up from 66% when NAHT asked the same question last year.
Ahead of the Budget, NAHT is urging the Chancellor to provide immediate additional investment in schools, and ensure the commitments in the Schools White Paper, including SEND reform are fully funded - with increased ‘high needs’ funding for pupils with the most complex needs.
The union wants the government to commit to a real-terms increase in overall core school funding over this parliament, ensuring it is not cut despite falling rolls in some areas.
And it wants to see a more ambitious plan for repairs and rebuilding to ensure that the whole school estate is safe, accessible, sustainable, and fit for purpose.
Of the 41% of its members in the South West fearing redundancies or restructures, 20% said there was already formal consultation about redundancies and/or a restructure at their school or multi-academy trust, 9% cited informal consultations, and 12% said there had been discussions about the possibility.
Of those leaders aware of consultations or discussions about redundancies or restructures, 62% indicated it was likely this would lead to increased responsibilities and therefore workload. 49% reported possible cuts to leadership positions at their school, while six in ten (60%) said a recruitment freeze had been mooted.
Christopher Tribble, head teacher at Honiton Primary School in Devon, said: “School leaders are being forced to make impossible decisions because funding is uncertain and insufficient. Children are the ones who ultimately pay the price.
“The government's changes to PE and sport funding (2) have forced me to reduce our PE coach's hours by 60%, while a lack of SEND funding is also harming our budgets and our outcomes. We are a mainstream primary school of just over 400 pupils, yet we are approaching 30 Education Health and Care Plans. Schools are increasingly being asked to meet complex needs without the funding to do so.”
Paul Whiteman, NAHT’s general secretary, said: “Schools are nothing without their dedicated workforce, but funding shortfalls are forcing many leaders to lose valued colleagues.
“While there have been welcome funding uplifts since the last general election, much of this has been swallowed up by increasing costs and demands.
“Schools will also need significantly more resources to effectively implement much-needed reforms to the SEND system and curriculum and assessment.
“When people do leave the profession, budgetary pressures mean leaders increasingly cannot afford to replace them and have to leave posts vacant. It’s a vicious cycle.
“With the best will in the world, it is children’s education which ultimately suffers.”
NAHT says funding levels are still only broadly in line with 2010/11 levels in real terms and there is no plan to reverse a decade and a half of flat investment in the nation’s schools.
As part of its We Demand Better campaign the union is urging ministers to start to the put that right.
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