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School sounding cuts

152 replies

mrz · 13/11/2016 12:50

Will your child's school face cuts to budget?http://www.schoolcuts.org.uk/#/

OP posts:
fairgame84 · 13/11/2016 17:58

DS is in an independent special and it's not on that link.
The school I work at has to save 50k. We're in a very deprived area and already feeling the pinch.
We have a lot of parents who refuse to fill in the pupil premium forms without realising the impact. They think we are snooping and don't realise that the money is for their children.

admission · 13/11/2016 18:05

Sorry but this is the NUT and ATL teaching unions making statements that are unrealistic. There are no cuts to funding for most schools, the funding will stay the say in £ terms for at least the next year, until a new national funding formula comes into existence. The figures that are being quoted here are effectively what extra funding schools will need to stay still in terms of staffing numbers if teaching staff continue to get pay rises every year through till 2020.
So there are two things that can happen. Firstly maybe the unions would like to suggest to their members that like many other professions (and incidentally most non-teaching staff in school) that they do not get a pay rise for the next 4 years. Realistically that is not likely to happen, in fact the opposite is much more likely that strike action will be called. Secondly schools will need to start looking very carefully at all their costs, especially in terms of staffing, and cut their cloth to fit with the funding that is available. That may well mean less teachers and support staff.

DellaPorter · 13/11/2016 18:19

Actually, academies are losing the additional grant they receive (esg) and 6th form funding has bottomed out after previous cuts were rolled out with initial protection, now ended.

there have already been unfunded pay awards for several years, and increases to pension costs and national insurance. I am on various finance director forums and I am afraid that the predictions on that site are pretty accurate

mrz · 13/11/2016 18:34

"Sorry but this is the NUT and ATL teaching unions making statements that are unrealistic"
You're right my school budget cut will be nearly £10K more than the site says .

OP posts:
Timeforabiscuit · 13/11/2016 18:40

admission im fed up with frozen pay being the solution, ive been sitting on frozen pay for 5 years and ill be fucked if my childrens teacher faces the same.

If they strike over this id fully support it! Fuck it as a council worker id bloody join them!

Timeforabiscuit · 13/11/2016 18:41

... and before you ask, no im not union, no I haven't walked before - but seeing what's happened I should have.

purplepebbles · 13/11/2016 18:53

admission - teachers had their pay frozen for years, and then had 1% pay rises (below inflation, obviously), so in real terms teachers have had pay cuts for the last few years.

I am happy to continue with this if:

  • the expectation to provide resources for enrichment activities is no longer demanded by parents and Ofsted. Although, to be fair, I don't think parents understand how close to the bone school budgets are at the moment
    *MPs also have pay rises capped at 1% or frozen
    *the Government stops dicking around with education, costing schools money every time they have to buy or replace essential materials / retrain teachers / TAs in new methodology
Suppermummy02 · 13/11/2016 20:17

I can see that teachers want more money but I just don't think the country can afford it right now.

DellaPorter · 13/11/2016 20:18

The teacher pay review body has actually recommended higher pay awards due to problems recruiting and retaining teachers

mrz · 13/11/2016 20:23

"I can see that teachers want more money but I just don't think the country can afford it right now" while I'm sure everyone (not just teachers) appreciates a pay rise I'd settle for schools being adequately funded to support pupils.

OP posts:
Haggisfish · 13/11/2016 20:25

I don't particularly want any more money, but I would like my school to be able to afford to pay its staff and maintain the buildings.

BoneyBackJefferson · 13/11/2016 20:25

admission

Funding has been frozen for years, this is real terms means that school have a reduced budget.

Teachers have had their pay frozen for years, and its only recently that they have had a 1% pay rise.

Link this to the changes in pensions and teachers are having their pay cut.

I get the feeling that you are one of those that say "we need the best to be teachers" but don't want to pay them the money to keep them in the job.

noblegiraffe · 13/11/2016 20:27

The government are spending 25-30k on bonuses for people who want to train to be maths or physics teachers while making no effort to retain the ones they've got.

And some people have the nerve to suggest that teachers, including those in shortage subjects should just suck up another 4 years of pay cuts.

There is money, the government are just shit. Academisation, grammar schools, consultations all cost money.

Suppermummy02 · 13/11/2016 20:42

I am sure more money would help, I would love for their to be more money for schools, hospitals, roads, mental health, HIV, food banks, police, army, prisons.... and pretty much everything but there isn't enough to go around, its hard but schools just have to manage with what they have got. #firstworldproblems

BusStopBetty · 13/11/2016 20:49

There is money, the government is actively choosing not to spend it on schools. Perhaps it would also assist if they collected tax from certain companies instead of shrugging and going, oh give us a quid.

noblegiraffe · 13/11/2016 20:52

And the government is choosing to spend education money on shit projects like free schools in areas that don't need them and setting up grammar schools because Theresa May wants them. Millions wasted.

Suppermummy02 · 13/11/2016 20:55

There is money, the government is actively choosing not to spend it on schools Yes people believe that, but if they spend it on schools another sector will make exactly the same point. There just isn't enough to go around to everyone, it has to be spread fairly.

if they collected tax from certain companies instead of shrugging
Another easy populous idea, if it was that easy then every government from left to right would have milked the golden cash cow to fund politically popular vote winning policies. But the reality is a LOT more complicated.

noblegiraffe · 13/11/2016 21:02

Supper what about the millions allocated for grammar schools? Give up that plan and spend the cash on schools.
Money saved by the u-turn on forces academisation and forces sats resits for Y7s. That could go on schools without anyone else losing out.

And MPs should be ashamed if they accept a pay rise.

Suppermummy02 · 13/11/2016 21:04

the government is choosing to spend education money on shit projects like free schools

I don't know whether free schools are good or not but I do know pouring money into failing state enterprises is a financial black hole.
Better to fund ideas of which some might succeed and some might fail. Cut the failures fund the successes, like evolution in the long run its far more efficient and successful.

From what I read a few failed free schools versus the many successful is a lot more cash efficient than burning money on failing state schools.

JWIM · 13/11/2016 21:04

There was a commitment to fund the forced academisation of all schools in the White Paper in March. That funding could be redirected to fund all schools now that the White Paper plans have been scrapped.

noblegiraffe · 13/11/2016 21:06

Cut the failures fund the successes

Opening new schools in areas that don't need them would seem to be an obvious waste of money.

Suppermummy02 · 13/11/2016 21:08

what about the millions allocated for grammar schools?

Sorry have no knowledge of them, cant comment yet.

MPs should be ashamed if they accept a pay rise

That's a false economy, if you make MPs pay so bad you will only get stupid people running the country. Personally I want the cleverest people in the role and would offer a LOT higher pay to get them. We need leaders not more Mr Beans.

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noblegiraffe · 13/11/2016 21:10

if you make MPs pay so bad you will only get stupid people running the country.

And if you make teachers pay so bad you get unqualified and streams of supply teachers teaching maths. Then you're left wondering why there's a critical shortage of STEM graduates to the point where the country has to import a huge number of engineers.

BusStopBetty · 13/11/2016 21:11

Opening new schools in areas that don't need them would seem to be an obvious waste of money.

Indeed, but I suspect people aren't falling over themselves to open free schools on sink estates, are they?

noblegiraffe · 13/11/2016 21:11

I don't think there is a shortage of people wanting to be MPs so we could certainly afford to keep their wages static for a while.

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