“These funding cuts are already affecting my children”

[MumsnetGuestPosts]

School funding cuts. I'm amazed there are still people who know nothing about them.

£3 billion of cuts is so big, it's somehow unbelievable. The school that my children go to faces cuts of almost £250,000 by 2019; the equivalent of eight teachers' salaries. For a two form entry primary school. Worse still, this isn't a local issue - 99% of pupils in England will be affected (check your school here).

I am hugely frustrated by those who deny these cuts and say that budgets have never been bigger, or that cuts are only in 'real terms'. They're excusing the deterioration of our children’s education.

These cuts are already affecting my children and all others who go to the school.

When my son started there was one teaching assistant per class. The following year there was one assistant per two classes -, and now there are even fewer, to the point that they have to be 'imaginative' about how to deploy them to classes. Schools shouldn't have to be imaginative about staffing; imagination is necessary in lesson planning and teaching, but not this. Music lessons have gone since they just can't be subsidised. Educational trips are all but gone. The school holds regular MUFTI days, in school cinema, even a sleepover - all to raise funds for basics they shouldn't have to fundraise for. You can see the cuts everywhere, like cancelling activities and events due to staffing shortages.

It's heart-breaking to watch your child's education slowly deteriorate. Education should be - and would be - improving, if funded properly. This is my children's only chance. They don't get to relive their school experience, and if these cuts go ahead it will be a bleak and depressing time for them, for their teachers and for a mum who just wants the best for her children.

Inadequate school funding is leading to reduced support and staff in my children's school. What will it do to yours?

Maybe they will reduce the number of teachers and increase class size? Perhaps they'll reduce the curriculum so they don't need specialist teachers? They may replace all teachers leaving with NQTs (Newly Qualified Teachers) on fixed contracts, then repeat on a yearly basis. Who can afford to recruit and retain experienced teachers with huge cuts on the horizon? Days of art, music and pottery will be gone. Creativity will be a distant memory and school trips barely in existence. At a time when mental health issues in children are rising, I can only see funding cuts compounding this issue.

Our children need a balanced experience to develop and grow. They need a broad and balanced curriculum, and to see an equal focus on the Arts as well as Maths, English and Science. They need the opportunity to explore who they are, what they want to do and be and see, to be confident, well-educated and well-rounded people. This does not come from a restricted curriculum, less support and a stripped-back education due to funding cuts.

The Fair Funding campaign is doing a great job spreading awareness. It's made me realise that I won't just watch this educational car crash, but will join thousands of other parents in fighting the cuts and insisting that education be funded properly.

I am helping to spread the word of this education crisis in Bristol as part of the 'Fair Funding for Schools – Bristol' campaign. I want to know that I have done as much as I can to stop this madness and secure my children a properly-funded education. I am their voice - and you are the voice of your children.

If nothing else inspires you to shout as loudly as you can that the cuts to education funding must stop, then your children and the children in your community should. Please sign the petitions, go to local meetings – or set your own up, join in the March against school budget cuts on Saturday 20th May and send a clear message that we will NOT accept it. Our children deserve better, and we, as their voices, will always fight for them.

The Bristol Fair Funding Meeting will take place at Parson St School on Tuesday May 16th.

Parents across the country are also joining together at protests, picnics and gatherings on the afternoon of Friday 26th May. Find out more at the Fair Funding for all website and Facebook page.

[Clavinova]

Isn't there already a maximum class size stipulated for practical subjects? Rather amiss if there isn't. Hopefully you wouldn't use an unqualified TA for a science practical instead of qualified technical support if required.

[MissMina]

There is a recommendation but it's impossible without adequate staffing - also you then have to weigh up having larger 'higher ability' classes to reduce the numbers in classes including those needing more support to get to the low numbers. I haven't had regular science specific support with a class in many years as technicians are cut back (at last school down to 1 technician who is then preparing practical work for the whole faculty)...Regular TAs are also reduced.

[noblegiraffe]

Primary and secondary pupils supported by teaching assistants (TAs) actually make less progress than those of similar ability, class and gender who do not get such assistance

A comment that appears to confuse correlation with causation. It is entirely possible that the TA doesn't cause the student to make less progress, but that the TA is assigned to the student because they are struggling. Schools do not routinely assign TAs to students randomly, or because they are doing fine.

[Clavinova]

However;
"The researchers suggested one reason why the pupils failed to progress was because just a quarter of teachers had been trained to manage TAs. And only one in 20 schools set aside time to plan and give feedback to TAs. They highlighted the fact that children being helped by TAs tended to get less time with their teacher."

"While TAs are extremely dedicated – many work extra hours without pay – their routine deployment to pupils most in need seems to be the heart of the problem. Pupils with the most need can become separated from the teacher and the curriculum."

Some of the comments from teachers on TES:

"They support the less able more often than not unfortunately they remain less able throughout their primary career probably because they have constant 'support' or rather supervision."

"The big problem with TAs is the hours they work. Mine works 9.15 to 12. This means I cannot talk to her before school, or after school, or lunchtime, and she is often on duty at playtime. So using her effectively boils down to grabbing a quick conversation while the children are in the room."

"I think it depends on your school and the policy for employing TAs. Some of ours tend to be parents who fancy doing the same hours as their children. They are not particularly well educated and are often not up to the standard of the children who they are supporting........... I see the look of fear on their faces if I ask them to do some small group work that I have planned for them......There is some research which suggests that employing TAs isn't often the best way to enable children to progress.... If you have a TA who is wonderful/has a degree/is a teacher who can't get employment, then maybe it's different."

[noblegiraffe]

Is that anecdote or data, do you think?

[Clavinova]

"The number of full-time teaching assistants (TAs) has more than trebled – from 79,000 to 243,700 – since 2000. Schools spend approximately £4.4bn on support staff, which equates to 13% of the education budget."

www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/apr/01/teaching-assistants-classrooms-research-impact

[anon1987]

We didn't have any TAs either when I was at junior school 22 years ago.
My mum used to teach cookery there as a voluntary position.
I did clarinet lessons which we paid for each term, and we had 3-4 trips a year.
There was also very little fundraising either.
We had 2 classes per year as well,

[noblegiraffe]

"The number of full-time teaching assistants (TAs) has more than trebled – from 79,000 to 243,700 – since 2000."

Is that unsurprising given the rise of inclusion and the closure of special schools?

[Clavinova]

Plenty of links to research here:
educationmediacentre.org/researchnews/whats-the-evidence-on-the-impact-of-teaching-assistants-3/

I think the crux of the matter is that many schools do not train/support/use their teaching assistants effectively - in which case they can represent poor value for money.

[anon1987]

In my dds school the TAs are so important. When their teachers have to go for training they step in.
When I was little I can't remember teachers having as much training as they do now?

[Clavinova]

"Is that unsurprising given the rise of inclusion and the closure of special schools?"

The primary school in Derby that's having to cut down its army of 50 teaching assistants has 1% SEN, 1.9% EAL and average Progress 8.

[noblegiraffe]

that many schools do not train/support/use their teaching assistants effectively

The same could be said for teachers. Funding, training, the use of unqualified staff and lack of opportunities for sharing information are an issue for teachers too.

[nong45]

Miss Mina yes ours is a secondary school but it's so worrying because GCSE courses are being affected and the curriculum narrowing because of lack of funds. Some of our best teachers have been made redundant. Parents I talk to with kids at other local schools all say the same. It's horrendous. Kids in state education will get the bare bones of an education. Parents will end up funding education through the back door by either giving more money to schools through informal means or having to pay for private lessons or tuition outside school to compensate for what's missing. Those who can't afford to will lose out all round. So much for One Nation Tories improving social mobility. It makes me so so angry. So angry.

[admission]

I think that there needs to be some reasonable perspective put on the cuts.
Yes in secondary schools with 6th forms there have been cuts but I question what the schools have been doing for the last few years. I am governor and Chair of finance at a 1800 pupil secondary school in an LA with one of the lower funding levels per pupil. We have a surplus moving forward, we have set a balanced budget for the next academic year without any recourse to making any staff redundant - in fact we have just employed an extra maths teacher. We may have to over the next year consider some changes to achieve a balanced budget for 2018/19 academic year but expect to manage that through natural wastage in staffing.
If a school is making 14 secondary staff redundant or the primary school is cutting down its army of 50 TAs that tells me that there has not been the kind of good financial management there should have been. It would be interesting to know whether the schools in question were actually solvent at the end of last financial year or whether the schools were already running deficit budgets . If they were again that points to poor financial management, which has now resulted in crisis and a need to balance the books by drastic action rather than considered, long term sensible actions.

[noblegiraffe]

but expect to manage that through natural wastage in staffing.

You mean that staff will leave and you won't be able to afford to replace them, right? And the work that they were doing will no longer be done, or their workload will be added to that of current staff?

[twelly]

Funding of school sixth forms was quite generous and money from schools budget used to subsidise sixth forms. Colleges sixth form and tertiary are more cost effective and would ensure years 7 to 11 were properly.

[noblegiraffe]

Funding of school sixth forms was quite generous

Past tense. Colleges moaned that schools got more money than them for the same job, expecting more money. What happened was that school sixth form funding was cut dramatically.
Huge pressure to get and keep bums on seats these days, even if it means advising students to do unsuitable subjects.

School sixth forms are a good way of recruiting specialist teachers to ensure pupils in Y7-11 also get specialist teaching.

[Phantommagic]

What Noble says is true. Many good teachers are attracted to teaching the full age range. I'd be much less keen to go to a 11-16 school.

[nong45]

Our school doesn't have a 6th form and the LA won't give the funds to build one so no cushion there. And from what I know the school is managed very effectively financially but it's a constant battle year on year to do more with less and I imagine the annual cost-cutting and restructures must be so damaging for staff morale, never mind the ever decreasing resources for the students.

[twelly]

I think the whole of education needs greater funding, but given the fact that there isn't enough to go round I think that the efficiencies need to be fair. At present there is great inequality across key stages and across geographical areas an types of institutions. If would appear that there is an optimum size of school primary and secondary, but due to geographical restrictions it is not always possible to ensure this.

[noblegiraffe]

the fact that there isn't enough to go round

This isn't a fact, it's a choice. A choice made by the Tories, to prioritise spending elsewhere, like reintroducing grammar schools, spending billions on land for Free Schools well over the market value, opening Free schools that immediately close or ones that don't even open, not capping CEO of academy pay, and that's just the money wasted in education.

[wrinkleseverywhere]

The thing I struggle with is that some schools which are complaining about cuts will still receive significantly more per pupil than my children's school has received for the past few years. Parson St school referred to in the OP is predicted to have a cut of £613 per pupil which will reduce the spend to £4450 per pupil. That means that, this year, that two form entry primary school has received over £5000 per pupil. My DC are at a two form entry primary school and receive less than £4000 per pupil already & that is being cut further. A school less than 15 miles from ours of the same size & a similar profile gets £100k more per year & another gets £200k more per year. The difference? They are in a different county/constituency.
Many of the things that the OP talks about were cut from our school a few years ago &, since then, parents have been encouraged to give an annual donation of £20 per term per child as well as support PTA events, pay for school trips etc.
Whilst, in an ideal world, no school would receive funding cuts, the current system is inequitable. I cannot bring myself to join the national outcry & gnashing of teeth when some of us have been trying to talk about this for years & met with no support as 90% of the country wasn't affected. IMO, I also don't think it is as simple as replacing generalist TAs. Instead, more should be spent on 1:1 support for those whose SN require that level of support, more spent on small group support for those with English as a second language, those with milder SN, those who have suffered a traumatic experience, those who need speech & language support etc.

[noblegiraffe]

I cannot bring myself to join the national outcry & gnashing of teeth when some of us have been trying to talk about this for years & met with no support as 90% of the country wasn't affected.

You're not pissed off that your school budget is being cut even further and the Tories are passing it off as an effort to make things fairer? People are assuming that your school which was underfunded will now be better off. Why are you not shouting about those lies from the rooftops? You're giving up talking about it because finally people are talking about it?

[MissMina]

I agree - not shouting because you've shouted before and no one listened seems like cutting your nose off to spite your face to me. Be glad that now we have a huge force stopping these cuts. Just as a point this is NOT about the fair funding formula - schools
must be funded fairly - but enough money needs to be in that pot for NO school to be losing out. We must challenge them and stop these cuts. Those saying 'natural staff wastage' are basically saying 'as long as we don't have to make redundancies' - we are still losing those staff/positions which presumably are often needed but can no longer be afforded. Last night they said 60% of schools run at a deficit - this cannot all be due to simply bad financial planning?! We need to stop the internal anecdotal bickering over who has it worse or who manages finances better and simply demand education is adequately funded. Choosing to take away £3 billion was that, a choice, and one that must be reversed. (Jazz Basma)

[MissMina]

Thr local paper has also picked up this article www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/stop-madness-you-should-join-63896 and credited Mumsnet - I would urge everyone to contact their local media and spread the word as much as they can. There are events planned this weekend as in OP and on Fri 26th May. Please share this Mumsnet link on any local FB groups you may be part of too. (Jazz Basma)