Extra £1.3bn for schools no long-term solution to funding crisis, say teachers
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Teaching unions have dismissed the £1.3 billion earmarked for schools by the education secretary as ‘smoke and mirrors’ and insufficient to make up losses.
In a statement to parliament yesterday Justine Greening said that there would be extra funding for schools over two years from 2018-19 to 2019-20, which would mean more money for every school.
However, the money has been found from efficiencies and savings from within the Department for Education’s existing budgets.
The majority of the funding has been found from the healthy pupils capital funding - £315m. The DfE said this reflected reductions in the revenue forecast from the soft drinks industry levy – the sugar tax – as producers were reformulating sugar from these drinks.
Money has also been released from the free schools programme - £280m up to 2019-20.
A further £250m has been found from the DfE budget in 2018-19 and £350m in 2019-20 to fund the spending announcement.
Unions said any extra money was welcome but that it was not enough to stop the funding cuts that schools were already making. The rise in inflation will also mean that schools will be worse off, they said.
According to the unions, calculations published on their School Cuts website showed that under the Conservative Party's manifesto plans for school funding, schools faced a loss of £11.6 bn in real terms between 2015-16 and 2021-22.
Schools were already making cuts in resources, curriculum choices and activities for students and in teaching and support staff posts, they said.
In a joint statement the National Union of Teachers, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, Unison, and GMB said that the Government had clearly recognised that its original plans were unacceptable and called on them to find more additional funding to protect all schools in real terms and avoid damaging cuts to children's education.
Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said, ‘After one of the most successful joint union campaigns we are heartened that the Government is reallocating some money from the free schools budget to maintained schools who were faced with unsustainable cuts. However, this is not a long term solution to the schools funding crisis. School budgets are already squeezed to the bone and children’s education is suffering. Schools need the money now so they can provide the teaching and support all their pupils need to reach their potential.’
Kevin Courtney, General Secretary, NUT said, ‘We have told the Government that schools are facing big real terms cuts. The Government has had to recognise that fact. This extra money is welcome but it is nowhere near enough.’
Unions said they were also concerned that schools could still see cuts to support staff.
Jon Richards, UNISON’s head of education, said, ‘Considerable extra money is needed to reverse the damage already done. Teachers and pupils are paying a high price because support staff have been axed. The loss of these jobs with other cuts is placing schoolchildren at risk. The Government should be investing in their futures.’
GMB, the union for school support staff, said that if the new funding comes from more cuts then the quality of children's services will continue to suffer.
Sharon Wilde, GMB national officer for schools, said, ‘Any genuine increase in funding will be welcome, but school staff won't believe it until they see an end to the job cuts and funding droughts that are pushing the education system to the brink.
‘If this new funding comes from more cuts to teaching assistants and other support staff then the quality of children's services will continue to suffer.’
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), said, ‘While Education Secretary Justine Greening’s announcement of an additional £1.3 billion for schools is great news, education starts much younger.
‘Nurseries who give children high-quality early years education are laying down the foundations for good life-long education. Every pound invested in early years pays dividends during formal schooling and beyond and this is where investment should be made.
‘NDNA has been urging the Department for Education to invest more money in its flagship policy giving 30 hours of funded childcare to parents of three- and four-year-olds to ensure sufficient places. We have been repeatedly told that there is no more money.
‘Ms Greening must prioritise some of this £1.3 billion to be invested in early years in order to bridge the funding gap and to match the real cost of delivery.'
