Government says parents shouldn't be worried about school funding

[noblegiraffe]

Gillian Keegan, current Education Secretary (you might not know this as there have been a few recently) was just interviewed by Sophy Ridge and said that parents shouldn't be worried about school funding.

School funding has been below 2010 per pupil levels for 13 years now. This has resulted in redundancies of TAs, support staff and teachers. It has resulted in subject choices being cut at GCSE and A-level. It has resulted in the school estate crumbling to the point where some school buildings are officially at 'imminent' risk of collapse, and there have been injuries to children and school staff where ceilings have fallen in.

Headteachers had to make further cuts last summer due to a late-announced unfunded teacher pay rise for September.

There is a shortage of TAs as schools can't hire due to being unable to afford competitive pay levels and TAs are choosing to work in supermarkets instead of schools.

There is a shortage of exam invigilators, again partly due to uncompetitive pay, and the government has been forced to relax ratios to allow exams to go ahead.

There is a shortage of teachers and now this year and next there is a devastating shortage of people training to be teachers, for various reasons including workload and lack of flexible working, but also uncompetitive pay.

Schools are also having to prop up the gaps left by the collapse of local services such as CAMHS and SEN support services who are now largely inaccessible.

We had a pandemic which adversely affected the education of children, and yet school funding levels remain below that of 2010.

How can parents possibly not be concerned about school funding?

Completely agree.

our school was left to become so derelict that when the e council did a spot visit they actually condemned the building and had to hastily get builders in because it had been so neglected.

it’s absolutely disgusting how schools have been deserted politically for so long

If ever there was a reason to be worried it is a Tory telling us we don't need to worry.

Yep 😡

I have insider knowledge from a close family member and would be very worried if I had school age DC or DGC
I don’t but am worried about the general nature of education and the knock on effects
As an employer I struggle with poor educational standards - an inability to accept constructive criticism and a sense of entitlement across some younger employees
I used to love training, mentoring and supporting people early on in their careers but now tend to stick to employing more mature individuals who may not have great qualifications but have more life experience and are willing to adapt their transferable skills

School funding has been stripped to the bone. It's a fucking disgrace.

I guess the problem is that such a small proportion of the voting population actually have kids in school (I assume) so why would the gov care about education if it’s not a vote winner

But it’s so short sighted. Rishi wants to be a science/AI superhub. That starts in the classroom. If kids aren’t getting a good education in the first place they won’t have the chance to change the world age 18+

But it’s so short sighted. Rishi wants to be a science/AI superhub.

He's already been told that his front page headline of maths to 18 was a non-starter due to us not even having enough maths teachers to teach maths to 16. No joined up thinking in the government to be seen.

And the Ed Select committee is running an inquiry into why we don't have enough teachers at the same time as Gillian is insulting the profession with shit pay offer after shit pay offer.

I'm a governor at our local secondary school and I can categorically state that parents, and absolutely anyone who gives a shit about our children and the health of our future economy, should be very, very worried about school funding.

When I look at my kids primary school and the staffing they had 2006-2013 -compared to the staff they have now, it's shocking. It used to be a full time TA for every class, now they share a part time one between two or more classes.

It's such a ridiculous thing to say isn't it. I was a governor until recently and agonising over the budget vs providing everything the kids needed was heartbreaking.

It's worrying for so many reasons - not least because these children are the future of the country. If you don't invest in the process you won't get the quality output at the the end will you.

Low IQ politicians gaslighting the public again.

Our school is in dire need of repairs & the lack of support for children needing extra help is shit. This is what happens with a conservative government.

Their abilities appear to be particularly focused on dodgy deals and sex assaults these days. Every week there is a new scandal.

@noblegiraffe are you aware of any templates available for emailing our MPs worth educational concerns? The type that backs up anything said with up to date stats and/or research?

What reason did she give for not needing to worry? 🙄
I'm a Governor at a local primary school and we have cut everything we possibly can. We are looking at a signicant deficit budget next year

Our primary has benefitted over the last few years from the minimum funding guarantee. This means our budget has gone up, but also means that we were historically poorly funded compared to other schools. It has given us a bit more capacity to support children with significant needs. But we seem to be at the end of that phase of growth and about to slide back due to unfunded pay awards.

This gives me a different perspective on schools that have seen their funding shrink. When people say "we won't be able to have a TA in every class anymore", I think "but we've never had that, it sounds like a luxury". I have to remind myself that it isn't a race to the bottom and schools like ours should have been levelled up, rather than other schools levelled down.

This is the graph that she has been wheeling out to justify it.

Schools were absolutely shafted last year by the late announcement of an unfunded pay rise after budgets had been set for the year, so the government placated school leaders by announcing an extra £2 billion for schools in the Autumn statement. But not till next year.

That money that was desperately needed this year to pay for the running of schools (schools had to make further redundancies, cancel planned spending on building works, IT equipment etc) is now being touted as the money that will be used to fund the offered pay rise for next year.

The argument is that energy price predictions have halved since they submitted evidence to the independent teacher pay review body recommending 3% next year. They're saying that the difference can be used to pay for the pay rise and support staff pay rise. Don't worry parents, it's all covered.

HOWEVER.

It assumes that schools will benefit from the predicted reduction in energy prices, which they won't if they fixed their tariff recently. I'm also not sure why their energy cost prediction differs so much from the one they submitted to the pay review body, given that was only a few weeks ago.

It also assumes that schools were already adequately funded, so that the £2 billion can be used to pay for these additional costs, rather than fill a pre-existing funding black hole. As we know, schools have been underfunded for over a decade so there are many things that need to have money spent on them that have been pushed back and staff that are needed who we haven't been able to hire or who have had to be made redundant.

So basically, if you were happy with schools being underfunded like they have been the last decade, it's business as normal.

If you think that schools need more money than that, it's bad news.

They are totally deluded. The strength of feeling from everybody in school these last two days is huge. Anyone who was a bit ambivalent before is angry.

I'm a teacher. I think our parents will have a shock in September.

Two teachers and four TAs are being made redundant, affecting class sizes in two year groups and SEN support across the school.

SEN children will only be supported for the hours we receive funding for. In some cases, children used to having support from a TA in every lesson will only get 2 hours per day.

We have had a small surplus for emergencies in recent years but that's gone and we'll be in deficit.

The number of trips will be cut in half. Increasing numbers of parents can't or won't pay and we can't cover it any more.

They won't necessarily know about the building repairs that won't happen (again).

Also can't get supply teachers, or afford them. Teacher absence will be coveted by a TA or we will split the class and send to other classes.

Nice enrichment activities, visitors, art/D&T/science lessons that used expensive resources will be changed or we will have to ask parents to contribute.

Government says parents shouldn't be worried about school funding

I'm guessing they missed out the second sentence which should read: They should be shitting themselves.

@echt Exactly, I am very, very concerned. The impact on society as a whole if children are not well educated is massive. Our children deserve better.

My school has had porta-loos for the last 4 months because we have nearly 2000 pupils in a building which was originally designed for 600 (Victorian). The pipe system can’t cope but we can’t afford to have the pipes replaced.

Cynically, I don’t think parents will worry. We have not had one complaint about shared porta-loos (All years and staff use them - like a festival!). We only have complaints for closure.

My school is literally falling to pieces, bricks dropping off into the car park, holes in the roof, buckets everywhere when it rains. It's a disgrace. But there's no money to fix it.
That's nothing to worry about though, is it?

I am a governor of a primary school and we finish this financial year with a substantial deficit, entirely as a result of the unfunded pay awards to teachers and support staff. Both of which were awarded after the budgets had been set. We have a building that requires substantial work, externally and internally, furniture and equipment that requires replacing or updating and not a chance in hell that there will be any money available for this apart from the miserly annual amount we receive for capital expenditure. Since becoming a governor some 12 years ago, I have seen the fabric of our school deteriorate to its current state with sadness and anger. Our pupils and staff deserve better, but it's just getting worse.

The government can piss off then can't they. My MP is getting an email this weekend telling them to increase teacher pay and conditions.