Tories to continue to run schools into the ground

[noblegiraffe]

School funding was a massive issue in the 2017 election, and some say that it lost the Tories their majority. Not seen much about it on MN recently, so it seems to either have fallen off people’s radar or people have believed the Tories when they say the promised increase in funding will sort everything.

According to the latest analysis by the NEU union “Only 18 out of 533 parliamentary constituencies will not see per-pupil funding drop in real terms in 2020 compared with 2015”

Curiously, 13 out of these 18 lucky constituencies are Conservative areas.

If you don’t trust the union data, the Institute for Fiscal studies says “after inflation is taken into account, schools will only be getting an extra £4.3 billion per year in real terms by 2022-23.”
... while the funding is enough to almost reverse the real-terms cuts in schools budgets since 2009-10, there has still been a 13-year real-terms freeze on schools' budgets, which is “an unprecedented period without growth”.”

In addition, there have been announcements like raising NQT pay to £30k. While I’m sure this will be welcomed, if this increased pay sucks up all the extra funding, then we still won’t have any money for teaching assistants, textbooks and glue sticks. Schools also have to pay more national insurance and pension contributions than 2010, so a return to 2010 levels of funding will automatically mean doing more with less.

www.tes.com/news/4-out-5-constituencies-face-school-funding-cuts
www.tes.com/news/government-funding-vow-13-year-real-terms-freeze

I’d normally post this in Education but AIBU seems to be hosting the Jeremy Corbyn thread and I do really want people to know that the crisis in schools will not be fixed by the Conservatives, no matter what they’re claiming.

What about larger class sizes, fewer teachers, fewer qualified teachers, students offered less choice in courses, not being able to afford the equipment you need to go your job properly, Holly?

Once Brexit is dealt with a lot of people will start to see the mess the Tories (and them for voting for them) have gotten the country into. It’s terrifying.

Class sizes being too big is an issue.

I do think there is a lot of waste in teaching. In all honesty though giraffe, I remember same problems under labour just with a different name.

I’m not Tory but this idea that labour are saviour of the teaching world and conservative are not isn’t helpful. It pains me to admit it but in many ways I’ve been happier teaching since this government came in power. And I am saying that through gritted teeth but it’s true.

Does anyone have remembers bog roll saga?

School staged a 'we need to get parents to buy loo roll we are so poor' '

Turned out school has tons of money and is one of richest.

How cone some schools can run in black and others in red?
Do the cuts affect every school?

London schools are MINTED!

I have a daughter who has cerebral palsy. She needs a TA in the classroom. Without one she struggles to learn and keep up. The TA is shared between DD and other children with SEN. This is not enough, but there’s no funding to meet all of their needs.

The teachers can’t cope when TA isn’t there. Kids with ASD and dyslexia are disengaged, kicking off, in and out of the classroom. ALL the kids then learn nothing.

“Research” is no comparison to every day experience.

MINTED?

Our school is in London. It’s over £200,000 in debt.

Holly I agree... There was a thing posted about the absolute hit taken by schools, or rather in one area in the the South by the sheer volume of children from Eastern Europe back in 2008.

It's a blow by blow account of the challenges the schools faced, the charities associated with schools, the other organisations orbiting schools eg support for children with issues/ children with no family. All wiped out by sudden volumes of very poor people and no head counts, no predictions and no.
..
Increase in funding?

And people wonder now.. Why there is no money? It was by local authority, perhaps someone else saw it or could link?

When something as cataclysmic as that happens it's going to take a long long long time to correct itself.

I’m not Tory but this idea that labour are saviour of the teaching world and conservative are not isn’t helpful.

I agree. But other parties are available.

I don’t want people to vote conservative thinking that the school funding thing is sorted. It’s not, education is in total crisis, and the Tories have no real plan to fix it.

If you’re going to vote conservative, be aware you’re voting for more of the same shit that lost them their majority in 2017.

I have two kids with sen and its dire in mainstream they are in private sen schools.

I'm in county that would be Tory even if Gary gilter was standing. A fag packet could be voted in as long as its Tory. Here, people care what torts do or say. They just can vote no other way

Some of that will be bad management dusty

London schools get far more than others.

I’m sorry to hear about your DD IMO, a teacher shouldn’t not be able to cope without a TA unless special school or early years. I am not wonder-teacher but I can honestly say this has never happened to me.

How cone some schools can run in black and others in red?

Parents are making up the shortfall in a lot of cases. Some schools I’ve seen on MN demand monthly contributions to school funds.

My secondary school has 500 pupils, 6 members of SLT, and 9 pastoral staff taking on HOY / AHOY roles. It’s nuts!

This is what I mean about waste of money. I am not saying for a moment there haven’t been cuts and that these are all justified but some schools just really don’t manage the budget well.

Dusty what does the law say?

Have you looked at school accounts?.
Sometimes they are badly run.

By law if child needs x funding then that's legally what they should be given.

It's a tactic to give 1:1,-to rest of class...
Sometimes it's easier to blame the government when it's the school.

Maybe we need total transparency across the board?

Eg 30 in class, 3 ehcp x funding paying x wages, declared... And so on?

Why would kids from Eastern Europe affect schools? Around 50% of kids in DD2’s primary school are from Eastern Europe. They are well behaved, bright, hardworking, sociable ... Of course. No different from any other child.

Well bog school kicked off due to asking for bog roll, and yet turned out to have lots of funds.

Our school pta does good work but also wastes money on loads of crap or mistakes.

Well, it would be disingenuous to claim that a surge in population levels don’t impact on public services - all public services.

Keeps us in jobs though

We have a high proportion of EE children. Many are delightful. Some are bloody awful. Plenty fit somewhere in between.

Divisive party.

I know what the law says.

Yes schools should be following it.

But how do they do that with no money for anything but the bare minimum? How can they if the whole schools is over 200,000 pounds in debt?

Thanks dusty.

The issues were not to do the 'nature' of the children it was the hit the schools took when suddenly their roll expanded with no head counts, warning or predictions eg... No extra funding and many dc had additional needs eg un accompanied dc which authority legally had to take of.

It impacted on every area.

So legally, funding that 200 grand in debt school, takes money from local authorities allocation for ta to child with echp to fill that hole?and doesn't provide the 1:1?

I can fight for DD to get what she needs but none of the other SEN kids will then get what they need. And they’ll be running around distracting everyone - especially DD who cannot block distraction out.

Not all kids with SEN have EHCPs. Most don’t. The council won’t give them one. There is no money left.

When did the large numbers of Eastern European kids arrive?

Holly, all children from all nations are individuals and will cover rainbow of human kind personalities.

It's nothing to do with children, it's about the volume of children that suddenly without any head counts suddenly hit schools. And poorer people settle in poorer areas.