to be scared by school budget cuts?

[TeeGee123]

My son's school is a two form entry primary. They're losing £805 per pupil, equivalent to SIX teaching salaries.

Although the government says that its moving money around nationally, all my FB friends (Penzance, Abergavenny, Manchester) are seeing cuts at their schools. (they checked here: www.schoolcuts.org.uk/)

What's going on? Anyone on here getting MORE in their local schools?

Titty at cost! We don't have the funds. I do consider it now and then as h as e friends that home ed but mine currently get a good breadth at school - specialist pe teachers, football, dance,choir weekly as well as some fab topics and the academic stuff. I wouldn't fit as much in.. If I had the money to buy it all in maybe!

tittygolightly even non political institutes such as the Education Policy Institute here have spoken out about the cuts in real time and all the DFE keep saying is that funding is at a high (only because there are more pupils in schools) - every single report points to the reality, every single person working in education is pointing out the reality

I work in small one form entry primary. Our actual funding for the next school year is £18000 less than the current school year.

Factor in the increasing costs, energy costs have all increased, my pay has gone up by 13p per hour, books etc have all gone up, the LA is charging more for the services they provide.... something has to give...

are the cuts to pay for Grammer schools(I didn't go to one so can't spell it)

Me too. DC's school budget is being cut by a million pounds ffs - big secondary. I'm now thinking of taking DD out for sixth form - I've always been against her leaving as that's always been the best part of the school, but the cuts will affect it too. Can't afford private ed as £6K per term(!!!). DS is year 8, would not want to leave as he has great friends. The school I work in will prob face cuts too but it has more private funding to shore it up.

Even if the grammar school idea was scrapped, the government would need to open up lots more schools as there aren't currently enough places for the kids coming up through the system (an extra 300,000 by 2020).

Unfortunately the government has decided that Local Authorities can't open new schools where needed and that new schools have to be Free Schools opened up by randoms. These are not always opened up in areas that need them, in a catastrophic waste of money, and some have already closed due to not enough pupils.

They are already making teaching redundancies to come into effect in September.

“The losers are places like Hackney”

Schools in Hackney receive twice as much per pupil funding than the schools in our LA. Yes twice as much. This doesn’t included pupil premium or London weighting, just the basic funding.

DD’s school is currently in financial crisis and the governors refuse to cut back any more. They are also among the bottom 5 worst funded schools in the country. There is a massive school/local MP/media/parent campaign to highlight the issue and to obtain fairer funding.

They have lost the support unit, SENCO provision is poor, class sizes are too big, extras are being cut back, the children don’t get text books, the school lunch provision is rubbish and portion sizes are getting smaller.

IMO it is wrong to rob Peter to pay Paul, but the current system is so unfair. Some schools don’t even manage to spend their entire budget and have surplus at the end of the year. The extra funding the school requires is 11% and the school won’t even see half of that.

I just find it absolutely shocking that the current government are being so short sighted about education.

This is my children's school.
I literally have no idea how the cuts can be made.
They are already struggling and we do lots of fundraisers already.

but the current system is so unfair.

The fairer funding formula will still result in cuts for the worst funded schools.

My school is set to lose 3 teachers. Given we already have 40 children in KS2 classes, I'm not sure where we can make more cuts!

Don't be fooled that it's in the future either. I know of at least one school in my area who are loosing severe amounts of funding from this year.

The grammar school near menus set to lose 13 teachers according to the website. How is that even possible.

I wasn't keen on the MAT that the schools near me formed but apparently it's saved them from going under so far. Not sure how they will lose a member of staff each, they're already nearly all nqts and TAs taking classes. I dont suppose the super head will take a pay cut..

Perhaps the DfE could avoid having to do this by clawing back the millions that they threw at the Education Fellowship Trust to enable them to fail children in their academies?

www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/education-schools-struggling-financially-axing-gcse-a-level-courses-cutting-class-trips-headteachers-a7620931.html

So , schools will have to cut back on the subjects being offered. They will stick with the Progress 8 ones but others will be cut or scrapped. Schools have planned to stop running A levels in Music, Art, Design Technology. Perhaps we will get to the point where these will be available in private schools only!

This is why moved heaven and earth to get my son unto a special school two years ago, I could see the cuts coming and didn't fancy the chances of my autistic son getting the right support in a mainstream classroom.

I feel for the children left behind because they will suffer under this. Cuts, coupled with an OFSTED with a results fetish is not a good mix. Let's be honest....if your school is under pressure to produce results and their budget has been cut then they are going to focus their support on the kids who will get results for them. Children like my DS won't be any kind of a priority in that kind of environment.

Wrote to my MP about this two years ago because I felt so worried about the kids left behind.

The government consulation is also open to parents. I filled in a submission last week and would encourage anyone else interested to do so.

The idea that the government would listen to a consultation when they totally ignored the responses to the green paper on grammar schools is laughable. It'll be a waste of your time, the Tories aren't interested in anything except what they think they can get away with.

I know you are probably right noble yet for the sake of 10 minutes I felt I had to try.

It's terribly sad, and I'm quite sure this is just the start

Even if there are no cuts, there are increases in utility costs, supply insurance costs, the apprentice levy, all of which do mean cuts effectively. There will need to be serious restructuring in lots of schools, unless schools can generate revenue streams.

All this at a time when data, impact, outcomes, results, are the be all and end all and the number of subjects and issues that schools 'should' be teaching increases daily.

The tipping point has well and truly been reached and the state education system is in crisis.

Do respond to the consultation - it closes on 22nd March. These problems are real, coupled with acute problems with recruiting and retaining teachers. I have been in education for over 20 years and have never seen it so bad. Get involved as this effects every single child in state education.

My school already has move pupils than spaces in the classroom causing health and safety issues. The department budget has been cut so no new books or photocoping. This is before the cuts.
The pressure of teaching in this environment is impacting both the mental health of the staff and pupils

Schools are getting less money. Some schools are getting a bigger slice of the less money available.

Schools are expected to pay more rather then get LEA funding for stuff.

Difficult decisions are being made in most schools.

May is in denial but the Tory backbenchers are the only ones who can do anything about it.

Get involved as this effects every single child in state education

Indeed.

But May will just say that more money is being spent on education.

'Yes, but.....'

There hasn't been the money for textbooks at school for the last five years or so, so God knows how we will get along in the future. This year staff are being told to drastically lower photocopying tests or worksheets , but there are no textbooks to use as an alternative, not enough computers in a room for a whole class to work off paper. It's madness, what are the kids supposed to do, memorise everything without having a written record?