Head teachers across Swindon are coming together to take part in a campaign aimed at bringing to public attention issues around school funding. Nationally, the education budget has seen a real-terms decrease of £2.8 billion between 2015-2020. In Swindon, the figure is £3.1 million
Local head teachers will be raising awareness by displaying banners outside their schools from Tuesday the 1st to the 3rd of May, as well as sending information home to parents.
The move comes as part of a national campaign, which has seen similar activities across the country, as well as the establishment of parents ‘fair funding’ groups, who have campaigned for an increase in school funding through leafleting, public meetings and events such as the hundreds of ‘parents picnics’ which took place last summer.
Eirian Painter, head teacher of Lainesmead primary school said, ‘We run as efficiently as we possibly can and, despite the government asking us to make efficiencies, we cannot, in all honesty, make any more. When faced with an £80,000 cut in a budget in one academic year, efficiencies are not enough. This is a cut. Therefore, the cut to school budgets has had a massive impact on Lainesmead. Last year we had to halve the number of teaching assistants in the school which has a direct impact on the number of interventions we are able to run to support the children’s learning as well as the support they receive in class. A further area cut is the number of sessions we are able to buy to support children who need emotional support in order to access learning. These are just two examples of much larger cuts that we are working with on a daily basis. This is completely unsustainable. Lainesmead are projected to have lost £328 per pupil between 2015 and 2020. The impact is ultimately on the children, who cannot receive the rounded education they so rightly deserve. This cannot be right and needs to be stopped.’
Sally Clarke, head teacher at Nythe primary school commented, ‘I am pleased that there is a joint awareness campaign across unions and schools. It is crucial that the public are made aware of the financial pressure being placed upon schools, particularly at a time when the level of accountability and public interest in the progress and attainment made by pupils is the highest I have known in my 25 years in teaching.’
Sherryl Bareham, head teacher at Dorcan Academy said, ‘It is becoming increasingly difficult to set a balanced budget; in 30 years of being in the profession I have never known budgets so tight. We have found it necessary to cut services which we deem essential to the wellbeing of students in order to fulfil an even more important essential of having teachers in front of classes and keeping class sizes reasonable. Finances are so tight now that there is no room for manoeuvre or contingency for unforeseen eventualities and, there is no glimmer of hope of any improvement. In fact, we anticipate the situation getting worse. As a Head teacher, it is the thing that keeps me awake at night and I know that other Head teachers are hugely concerned.’
The event follows on from several recent school funding activities in Swindon, including a town-centre rally as part of a national day of action on school cuts, and an Education Question Time, in which local election candidates explained their education policies to a public meeting.
More information on the campaign can be found at schoolcuts.org.uk
For more information, please contact Jon Timbrell at jon.timbrell@neu.org.uk
