Schools facing catastrophic winter

[noblegiraffe]

Schools are starting their Autumn term facing an unprecedented funding crisis. Headteachers are becoming increasingly frantic in their disbelief that the government has done fuck all about it, and appears to be planning to continue to do fuck all about it.

There are few issues contributing -

The energy crisis - school energy bills are not capped, unlike household ones. To give an idea of the scale of the issue, Ormiston Academies Trust which sponsors 43 schools will see its energy bills rise from £5.1 million to £14.3 million. Grant Shapps, transport minister, says that schools could consider switching to LED lightbulbs.

Teacher and support staff payrises - the government have recommended payrises for teachers and support staff, but crucially will not be giving schools extra money to fund them. If schools give staff the recommended pay rise, they will have to cut services to fund this (even before you consider the energy bills)

The cost of living crisis - schools are facing increased prices just as households are. Food for the canteen, stationery orders, everything is more expensive. Sam Freedman tweets "Very rough calculation is that energy bills plus teacher pay increase plus higher food costs are going to add around £5bn to school budgets nationally. Just under 10% of the total budget. And none of it was built into the funding model."

On top of that, covid still needs to be considered. Last Jan/Feb schools were in chaos due to staff absences (the government widely trumpeted their call for an army of volunteers to step in, which didn't appear). At the end of the summer term, all the education unions wrote to James Cleverly, temp Ed Sec asking for a covid plan that included increased funding to schools for supply teachers to cover staff absence. Given that we haven't actually got a functioning government at the moment, I'm pretty sure he hasn't replied. Signs are that we're facing a bad flu season too, vaccinating school staff should be a consideration. Some schools already pay for the flu jab for staff, most won't be eligible for a covid booster, no idea what the impact of that will be. Obviously there will be pressure to close windows to keep any heat in, which goes against covid guidance for ventilation.

Some academy trusts appear to have large reserves which will help them weather the storm, most very much don't. twitter.com/ajjolley/status/1564562763443277825?s=21&t=nmM2Q_vFCmo5GzILNNKhfg

School leaders are reporting that they will have to make support staff and/or teachers redundant or pause recruitment, restrict heating, cancel school trips and extra curricular activities. This will inevitably have an impact on children, and on the quality of education on offer.

I'm not sure what either Truss or Sunak have said about the crisis facing education, all I've heard is wittering about grammar schools. An intervention is needed urgently.

www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/energy-bills-cost-of-living-crisis-schools-face-catastrophic-winter

You’re right to be worried- in many schools, budget cuts are already so fierce that learning support is only available where children have individual funding via EHCP. The era of general TAs for classroom support is long gone.

There is even more of an issue here when you consider that schools are finding it very difficult to hire support staff because pay is too low and the usual incentive of school hours and having the holidays off isn't worth it anymore compared to other jobs where you can wfh, or even do shifts in supermarkets.

So where children desperately need support, even if schools can afford to hire someone though EHCP funding, they might not be able to.

Hmmm, going by the comments about kids under the Daily Mail articles about heating, I don’t think there will be much sympathy. There has been vast swathes of ‘chilblains, 3 jumpers and ice on the inside of the windows never did me any harm when I was a lad’ type comments recently. It appears there are a lot of people who would be very happy for children to be very cold and hungry this winter both at home and school as long as the schools stay open.

If those same hungry cold children aren’t learning, then I expect the lazy teachers will be blamed though.

If schools are warm and cosy - people would be complaining about Covid spreading in non ventilated classrooms

If schools are cold - people whine about cold kids.

Either way, I'm glad I no longer work in a school...

Yep schools are apparently considering 3 day weeks. I think this will happen as they’ll have no choice. Our school already has a deficit.

Im very worried about finding childcare for my 2 primary kids to allow me to work.

The government don’t bloody care.

I would not want to be a headteacher for all the tea in China.

I would not want to be a headteacher for all the tea in China.

There's already a massive shortage of headteachers and after the way they were treated during covid and now this, I can't see the situation improving.

Surely there will be an outcry of schools go to a 3 day week? How would people work? Would we really be happy for our kids education to be fucked up even more than covid already did?

I’m not sure EHC plans will offer the reassurance that they once did-our LEA is rebanding them all this year which will no
doubt mean the funding that was previously allocated, will reduce.

I think some parents are also under the impression that EHCP funding brings with it someone with SEND expertise-one parent assumed they’d be getting a 1:1 autism specialist teacher!

Recently, we have only been able to hire local mums to work 1:1 with some of our more high need pupils as nobody is applying for the roles. It’s minimum wage, limited hours and the risk of being hurt is high. People don’t want to stay. The last two we hired had no experience with children and not even GCSE maths or English pass. It was them or nobody and the LEA said not being able to hire staff was an unacceptable reason and we were instructed to offer full time placements to the pupils.

Add in the changes to eligibility for free school meals sneaked in with universal credit (you have to earn less than 7.5k now) which reduces pupil premium funding even further too.

this government doesn’t give a flying fuck about it though. Tories are going to Tory and none of us should be surprised.

I am lucky that I fought tooth and nail to get it so Ds clearly stated 25 hours 1-1 from a level 3 or above teaching assistant (with training in some specifics for ds) and a high level of support during break and dinner times.

so many ehcp plans aren’t worth the paper they are written on, originally they worded it “high level of support needed” but that could be anything and sadly I think a lot of parents are going to realise just how wooly their childrens plans are this year.

It’s going to be a very challenging winter. I see Edwina Curry has popped up on twitter saying she wishes Martin Lewis would stop talking about a ‘catastrophe’. She was roundly ratioed.

twitter.com/simonkidwell/status/1564859174663634944?s=21&t=JqIIzMcrrS62Lhw-0vrxDw

Not sure if this link works but they appeared to be covering it this morning on the news.

There are a lot of people who do not want anyone to talk about our current crisis in the country. They think because they are fine everyone else should just shut up and pretend there is no issue.

Sirzy You are right that a tight EHCP is helpful but ..if a school loses a well qualified TA such as someone you have working with your son, they will possibly struggle to recruit. We have seen this where I work. There are less people coming for these roles as they simply do not pay enough. Yes it is a legal requirement but if the school cannot get the staff, realistically that could mean that the provision you fought for is not fully available. Not because they don't want to but because they can't.

And certainly, if your ECHP specifies 1-1 support for your child you can fully expect that child to be placed into a class with other children with unsupported needs and the TA be shared around.

And educated people will use legal routes to fight for their child's SEN support. Some of the most vulnerable kids will with SEN will get little or nothing.

Energy costs for schools and colleges must be capped now. Either that or nationalise the energy companies and the State can then automatically absorb the increased costs to schools. If neither of those suggestions are taken seriously by the government and opposition, we're headed for bigger trouble as a society than cold schools this winter, because what schools are facing is only a facet of the much broader systemic danger.

Absolutely-if schools can’t recruit on the money provided, they can’t recruit. If push came to shove and the LEA forced the issue-you could easily end up with a situation where in order to afford paying for that one child to get particular qualified 1:1, the head can’t afford for a qualified teacher and the class get an HLTA full time instead. There are no winners here.

People saying 'the government will have to do something!'

The government isn't even recognising that there's a problem. Schools are going back with no idea what to do, and what support will be coming, if any.

Plans take time to be drawn up and implemented, and no one seems particularly confident that the new PM will have the skills to do that anyway.

I think the government will be forced into action. Too many people in cold houses, schools, hospitals and every public service struggling with bills. Businesses closing down all over the place, including a lot of hospitality.
If they still do nothing, or just tinker at the edges, the public anger will spill over.

Yep I currently do a lot of my therapy work in primary schools. They pay 75 an hour to my agency, generally funded from the child’s pupil premium, but I think we will be one of the first things to be cut.

I’m a middle leader and until about 3 years ago it was my ambition to be a head teacher. Now, I’m working out my exit strategy to leave the education strategy completely! It’s such a shame!

*education sector! (Baby brain)

I think with the Covid situation as it is now, I have zero support for anyone who stays off with fewer symptoms than they would have pre Covid, or takes a test - everyone is vaccinated, the vanishingly few people who can’t have vaccines or those who are ultra vulnerable need to take precautions to protect themselves the same way they would have before Covid. There is no need for teachers to be off unless they’re genuinely too ill to work. I have no support for schools that have staff shortages because they’re encouraging teachers (or children) to stay off every time they cough this winter.

everyone is vaccinated

That will no longer be true this winter given that the vaccines wear off and under 50s will not be offered the booster.

I know it’s a shit situation all around, I know the protection that comes with Ds ehcp could well make things harder for the school because of the lack of money. But that gives him that extra bit of security which selfishly is important