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.

Surely the government should be funding schools- matching the numbers of kids there.

We have money to waste on so much else it seems. Why are schools neglected?

Austerity was nothing to do with Eastern European people. Was it?

I know genuine, I was trying to avoid the ‘lovely hard working polish / lazy British oiks’ that is sometimes embraced on here

I am a Primary school teacher with years of experience, working in a senior leader role. I have made the heartbreaking decision to leave my role at Christmas due to the intense pressures caused by the lack of funding. Let's get real here. We aren't talking about a shortage of glue sticks. We are talking about schools with huge deficits leading to the necessity to use unqualified teachers, the loss of teaching assistants who provide invaluable interventions for lower ability children and broken IT equipment which cannot be replaced. Heads spend their valuable time trying to stretch their funds in impossible ways and end up making decisions based on cost management rather than what is in the best interests of the children. Teachers accept yet another year with no increment despite smashing their targets and take on senior roles with no hope of ever reaching UPS due to the lack of funds. Meanwhile the conservatives think paying NQTs almost the same as someone with 5 years experience is the answer. Please believe me when I say that the Conservative party will eventually destroy our state education system and nobody seems to be noticing the crisis as they are distracted by the horror of Brexit.

Schools can and do apply for funding for EAL (English as an Additional Language) students, much like pupil premium. Asylum Seeker children also have access to funding. EAL pupils also (in general) raise the school’s progress 8 scores which certainly doesn’t hurt.
However, whether schools claim that funding at all, or use it appropriately isn’t always clear.

I don’t think EAL funding would cover building extra classrooms.

Is anyone else teaching in a ‘temporary’ classroom that actually has been ‘temporary’ for decades? Holes in the walls, freezing in winter etc.

There’s a massive bulge in the number of children currently in primary, headed for secondary and there aren’t nearly enough school places for them all. And even if they build enough schools (which isn’t planned), there aren’t enough teachers to cope by a long way.

My school receives no extra funding for EAL children. We have refugee children who are eligible for pupil premium due to meeting the low income criteria.

The system is broken. Broken. Broken.
@Piglet208 I am so sorry to hear you are leaving. I also do not think I am in this job for much longer. I think I will stick it out while my own DC are in primary but then that will be it for me unless there are huge changes.

Our local paper said our school had been awarded millions. The HT wrote a rebuttal - but there will be many, many parents that will believe every word from the press

God, where do I start?

@Piglet208 - can't agree more.

I'm a primary teacher. I'm also a senior leader with a lot of experience. This year is the hardest I've ever had. I'm seriously looking at getting out and I never thought I'd say that.

I have 2 other adults supporting my class. They are both fantastic, highly experienced TAs but because of budget cuts have been deployed to support the children with ECHPs. These children need and are part-funded for 1-2-1 support. That's the other thing - many ECHPs only part-fund staff so schools are expected to cover the shortfall.

Trouble is, the funding doesn't actually cover training for me or my colleagues. So we are trying to support children with very severe SEN with little to no training or practical strategies whatsoever. This includes a child who screams constantly and another with a severe physical disability that requires constant vigilance. We have had the bare minimum of training.

This leaves me to support (& hopefully teach!) 28 other children, some of whom have mental health issues, emotional and behavioural issues and undiagnosed SEN.

It's utterly shit. And I have spent this weekend looking at other jobs outside education. As have many of my colleagues.

I cannot imagine the utter havoc that another 5 years of Tory lies, greed and bullshit will wreak on the education system. Believe your child's teachers when they say it is bad..although it is actually far, far worse...

Our school's boiler broke earlier this term. Needs replacing but will cost £100K.
So everyone's been wearing coats.

That’s outrageous, it’s really hard to concentrate when you’re cold.

Parents should complain more about the current conditions but the issue is that schools often cover them up and pretend to parents things are fine.

Things like an inability to hire qualified teachers.

Why is there no focus on this crisis now that we’re heading for an election?

All the bickering on various threads and social media doesn’t match these real stories that so many of us can tell.

Sickening seeing Boris visiting schools pre election and pretending to care about state education. In response to Deborah Meaden's attached tweet, I'd have spent some of it on schools

The French government has just halved class sizes for all six and seven year olds to twelve. It's a matter of sheer political will. I will NEVER understand why Tories don't get that a well-educated, healthy population is better for everyone.

What’s striking there, Welsh is that they’ve halved it from 24. Kids and primary teachers in England can only dream of class sizes of 24.

well exactly.

We realised very quickly that local schools were mot able to provide the support our oldest needs . not for lack of wanting and motivation by the teachers, but for lack of resources at the schools. we are fortunate enough to send him to a small private school, so his needs are met. The school (as many, many of the smaller primary schools) specialised on mild special needs kids.
However, in terms of voting, that leaves us with a problem: labour wants to stop private schools (and there is no hope whatsoever that they can provide decent state school
places for all these kids in the short term). So we can’t vote labour (which we used to do). tory is out of question anyway.

Labour is not going to shut down all private schools overnight FFS.

@WeshMaGueule hopefully not, but the risk is too high. Even if tve fees just go up significantly, we are in trouble. and there is no local state school that would suit him (too full, noisy, not enough TAs).

Lifetime Tory voter. Will vote Tory on 12 Dec.

It's not about not caring, or even thinking they've done a remotely good job in recent times. I just cannot vote for the hard left. A Labour moderate and I would actually consider voting for them for the first time ever.

But there are other parties otter?

Not really. Despite being on the fence re Brexit I don't support a 2nd ref so that's the Lib Dems out. Likewise Greens, who haven't the foggiest what a woman is. I'm in a Tory Labour marginal and it'll be interesting next month.

The French government has just halved class sizes for all six and seven year olds to twelve. It's a matter of sheer political will.

French state schools have very little in the way of extra curricular activities or facilities - pupils mainly sit at their desks.

A third of French schools moved to a four day week in 2017 - based on a decision made by their local authorities;

www.thelocal.fr/20170719/third-of-french-schools-to-return-to-four-day-week

Mobile phones are now banned in French schools up to the age of 15;

www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/france-mobile-phone-ban-school-french-government-students-a8521961.html

And still the teachers go on strike;

"French teachers join the revolt against Macron.Teachers across France were set for a national day of strikes and demonstrations."

"They are fighting authoritarian attacks on education pushed through by government minister Jean-Michel Blanquer."

"Some of them are modelled on British “reforms”.

socialistworker.co.uk/art/48121/French+teachers+join+the+revolt+against+Macron

French strike delays final exam results for thousands of students;

www.thelocal.fr/20190705/french-strike-delays-final-exam-results-for-thousands-of-high-school-students

Our school's boiler broke earlier this term. Needs replacing but will cost £100K.
So everyone's been wearing coats
People who plan to vote Tory in the election are voting for kids to sit shivering in schools I'm afraid. Sorry CallmeAngelina! I expect more kids will be doing the same soon. Don't know how they sleep at night, but we all have different standards I guess!

French state schools have very little in the way of extra curricular activities or facilities - pupils mainly sit at their desks

Um, no. There is ample after-school club provision. My son's school does sport and school choir and various other stuff. It is open four days a week but it offers low-cost wraparound care and all-day activities for the day it's closed.

Banning mobile phones is not a bad thing. And of course the teachers go on strike, that's why education is a national priority and my son is learning to read in a class of twelve not thirty-five.

I’d rather spoil my vote than vote for a party that you know has and will destroy public services. It’s one thing to vote Tory because you don’t care about education or the NHS, it’s another to say you do and then vote for them anyway.