To ask Headteachers and SLTs is it really that bad?

[Paris2023]

Press since the start of term and now more recently has focussed on schools running out of money. Perhaps having to shorten days to cover outgoings. With more recent news of further austerity and I believe limited funding what do current HTs and members of SLTs think?

what is the solution if more money isn’t available? A lot of money is being swallowed by higher energy bills.

Look at how much academies are paying their "shareholders".
Look at how many senior teachers there are whose job it seems to be to demoralise, criticize and overload the classroom teacher.
Look at the bloated top end.
Look at the exam boards and associated publishing companies.
There is a lot of money being spent and imho utterly wasted.

There is a lot coming up that won’t be palatable. The Tories will raise taxes. It’s inevitable. CGT doesn’t form enough of the overall tax income to make a difference. Only VAT income tax and NiCs when raised make a proper difference.

So true - we are supporting families by providing heavily subsidised uniform and referrals to food banks.
We cannot possibly ask parents to contribute ro run schools and as a previous poster has said parental contributions couldn't even begin to plug the gaps.

I've always prided myself on managing my school budget well - carefully and with an eye to times getting tougher but this is unprecedented - all my careful husbandry of resources won't make any difference. I wish I hadn't bothered scrimping and saving to be honest.

www.tes.com/magazine/leadership/finance/what-happens-if-your-school-runs-out-money

“That might mean closure … [and] extending provision at a neighbouring school to absorb those pupils,” he continues. “If it was a trust, the ESFA and the department would look very closely at the viability of the trust and the schools within it. One possible outcome could be rebrokering those schools and seeing them go and join another family of schools and another trust.”

We're talking about the sort of situation where schools will potentially be closed. It really is very serious for some schools (particularly small village schools which are under subscribed, and don't have much in the way of staffing to cut).

Losing a school can be very damaging for a community.

They may be "not for profit" but some of the salaries they are paying themselves (the shareholders are often senior management/bursars etc) are way too high.

@Paris2023 I just don't see how you can burden the younger generations with even higher taxes when they face such high housing costs. It's completely unequal as those taxes will pay for things that generation will not see eg state pension age will keep moving out & I don't believe the NHS will be free at the point of care in a decade.

Unless there is some exceptional about this school, e.g large legacy, donations, PP there is no way your school has millions stashed away. Income from the government relates directly to the number of children and the majority of expenditure is staff related and there is a correlation between the two.

Because of funding, we won't have a school librarian anymore, and the library won't be open after school for revision, either

My son's school got rid of their library staff before covid and they are not part of an academy, either!

I think teachers need to stop buying things out of their own pockets or working extra days without claiming the supply rate.

The reality of this disaster needs to stop being hidden and for it to come out loud and clear as it is on this thread.

This isn’t about little measures like parents giving £10 a month, or running a fundraising event to raise £2k for the school. These problems are much bigger than this and these little solutions, although kindly intended, just can’t solve the problem that is far bigger than these little solutions.

The only solution is more funding to schools from government. They need to work out how to fund it, but schools need to receive the money.

People have said for years that it’s all going to shit, but the message hasn’t been loud enough and paring over the cracks has meant the problems aren’t seen. Parents need to see the decline in education that their kids are getting. Schools will need to go bankrupt before people really understand. It’s going to happen. And of course, kids who are in school now and who will be in school in the next few years will suffer. To be honest, it’s got beyond preventing it happening…so it needs to happen so action can be taken, because until schools really do go bankrupt and can’t provide the services they are there to provide, parents and the electorate won’t wake up to the seriousness of it and demand change.

The new h&s levy was going to be charged to people above pension age who were still working, they should have kept that.

To be honest, I think we have to look at the whole model of academisation. I think cutting top salaries won't actually be enough. I'm not sure if putting all schools back under local authority control is necessarily the answer, but having lots and lots of small MATs and stand alone academies and free schools does lead to a lack of economy of scale- and of course you do have all these CEOs and executive heads etc being paid a lot of money. Getting rid of their salaries entirely still won't solve the problems, but it might make a bit of a dent.

But it would potentially mean large, drastic changes for a lot of schools, which wouldn't be popular with parents, or, maybe school staff.

@BounceBackBoris, and yet secondary school I worked at rented out school hall to people teaching sports clubs, eg football club, cricket club and made a profit also to Weight watchers group one evening a group and Pilates another evening. Not sure why you'd think groups would not pay. Most Weight Watchers groups rent out Sports Halls in evenings. Secondary children cook own toast. Each form group rotates duty in break times, again this worked very well at my old school. A couple of Sixth Formers' supervised and brought bread and spread each day. Hand Car washes work and no one is expecting teachers or T/A to do any extra work. The whole point is PTA organise and volunteer. Parents pay to get cars cleaned because they know their children will benefit. Used to make £500-£600 once a year on a Saturday morning at my old school. You seem determined to be negative and not want any suggestions to work. My old PTA used to contribute about £2k a term. Some fund raisers like book swaps would take place on Parents Evenings and parents just brought a book or bought a book and paid £1 per book. Dropped money into a bucket. Often made £70 and no staff effort. PTA took any books away at end of Parents Evenings. Uniform sale in School Hall week week before school started in September. Also on Parents Evening too. Did not make a lot of money but people donated items for free and parents bought for 50p or £1 per item. Parents did use it, especially for PE kits. Perhaps you would prefer your school to run out of funds?

@Postapocalypticcowgirl we are all very different models of school and that’s important in MAT growth - which is why a small village primary can struggle to find a MAT partnership.

if you looked at the profiles of the schools, the one that struggles financially the most is the Outstanding super successful High School who everyone thinks is the star of the group but we all prop it up.

We have financial projections for all our schools and can see the potential growth models. We spend a lot of time with the CEO looking at financial projections and looking at revenue streams for the MAT to generate income rather than putting an extra burden on teachers/ families.

My school thrives as I have a business sponsorship and work closely with a large business who have directed some of their Corporate Social Responsibility funding.

CSR from the big companies mostly heads towards health projects. It may be an opportunity for business to invest in its future employees.

The data from the OECD shows that governments who invest in education end up with growing economies, better health conditions and higher education rates impacting future generations. So the government needs to invest more not cut and it will pay dividends to them later on.

The data from the OECD shows that governments who invest in education end up with growing economies, better health conditions and higher education rates impacting future generations. So the government needs to invest more not cut and it will pay dividends to them later on.

Completely agree but it won't happen. Even if taxes are increased that money won't find its way to schools.

@Postapocalypticcowgirl why did your school pay the building company any money before the job was completed and signed off ?

We’ve got loads of temp contracts, particularly with support staff but also teachers. Once we know what the pay rise is, and what (if any) pay support we’ll get for the 7/12th, and what the energy hike looks like (costs weighted towards end of FY), then we’ll know if their contracts are getting extended or terminated.

We’ve struggled to fill low grade support roles and have to buy in more expensive agency which has exasperated the inyear overspends and I think this trend will continue.

I think for LAs, cluster school/academy arrangements are the way it will go, so 1 expensive HT/SLT for a number of sites, rather than 1 each.

I agree. I think we were seeing the start of it last year, with ad hoc closures in schools who couldn't afford supply. But I think people thought that was a short term problem, because of covid.

I wouldn't be surprised if we saw some schools close due to lack of staff this winter too, even though teaching staff no longer have to isolate if they have covid. Again, there's low availability of supply, and schools don't have the money to pay for lots of supply staff (and many schools are already short staffed).

I also agree that teachers have to stop funding the school system out of our own pockets, with unpaid labour and by buying resources.

I actually don't think school closures would make it hit home to all parents- they'd see it as an issue that didn't impact them. But if all schools start closing for the odd day here and there with no warning because they can't get supply staff in, I think that will really focus people's attention?

Well my school PTA is brilliant, does all those things. We rent out our halls etc

We have still run out of funds.

I have no idea, because I don't make decisions at that level. But we were told the work (which we were previously told was essential for fire safety) wouldn't be completed for this reason.

These fundraising initiatives which raise £100 here and £500 there…..so kindly meant and generous if the time if parents and those involved….but not the answer, as those sums don’t touch the sides of the extent of the problem.

It’s not that schools haven’t been inn active and hired their rooms out, or haven’t utilised PTAs…but that those actions only raise limited funds and far in excess if that is needed to cover the basic costs of schools.

Those increased energy bills and below-inflation pay rises which are unfunded will cost schools tens of thousands and far more than fundraising and room renting will bring in.

The answer has to come from government funding not school attempts to raise a few quid or cut where there’s nothing left to be cut.

Most secondary schools already sell toast as part of the kitchens break time offering from the outside company that provides the catering

I am a school governor at my children's school and SLT at the school I work in.

I think small schools have been hit hardest. I know a lot of small schools in our county have had sparsity funds reduced. I know of one school that lost £56,042 this year.

Another issue is that the first £6000 of each SEN child has to be funded by the school. That’s before they can receive any additional funding. In my small school we have 6 of those children so that minus £36,000. Also the £11,000 then given by county council (at maximum) for each child nowhere near covers 1:1 TA’s, resources and training required for these children.

Also the teacher pay rise (yet to be negotiated) - at least a 5% rise has to come out of school budgets. Schools are not being allocated more money to cover these wages. Despite teachers deserving that and more!

Then there are the utility costs that every household and business are facing - gas, electric and water costs.

Those are just a few of the issues we are facing 🤦🏼‍♀️🙃

Things are that dire and have been for years. We are in the bare bones of staff; like others have said we have had to loose 2 A levels and 1 GCSE option. We have not replaced staff and our TAs are now only the legally required 1:1s. We are selling some equipment from DT as we will reduce that department's offer next year; that will possibly pay one month's utility bills.

I am SLT and the DSL. I am paid reasonably well and I get time to be able to deal with issues that arise, but saying that I teach more now than I did as HoD. Last week I lost 7 frees to cover absent staff as we can't afford supply; I was pulled out of 2 of those cover lessons to deal with serious issues. The deputy DSL was already deep in a significant issue and couldn't be pulled from that.

My mental health isn't great at the moment to be honest, and it is all linked to school. We are not supporting our students and our staff well enough. We are doing everything humanly possible, but we aren't doing enough. Our staff are hanging by a thread now, pushed to the absolutely limits and we just do not have the resources to support everyone like we should. Our SENCO is leaving because her mental health is ruined.

I had an Amazon order arrive today; nearly £90 on staplers, staples, pens and blu-tac. All removed from an order submitted in June as it was too big. I bought it as the Head of Science broke down not being able to find a stapler on Thuraday. As ridiculous as it sounds, that was her breaking point.

Once the mortgage is paid off I will be gone. I know I won't be made redundant as the DSL but I cost 2 new teachers. And there are experienced staff everywhere thinking about that now.

Totally agree with your last paragraph. But I'm not sure long term thinking is possible with the current government?

I know some schools in London facing closure due to falling rolls. Lots of families have left London plus birth rates.

80% of school budgets go on salaries looking at the News just now