CUTS to school funding could have a ‘catastrophic impact’ on Rugby’s infant and primary school children, according to 16 concerned head teachers in the town.
The head teachers, representing the Rugby Rural East consortium of schools, wrote to parents warning pressure on their budgets had never been greater – predicting each school could be cut by around £150,000 over the next three years.
Claiming the Government’s new National Funding Formula was unfair because many schools would see their budgets plummet, the head teachers said: “Schools will become funding ‘winners’ or ‘losers’.
“Those that have been funded well will have their funding reduced to give more to those that have been poorly-funded to date.
“Despite Government assurances that funding is at an all-time high, it is getting harder and harder to make sure your children receive the best we can provide as costs keep rising and our funding remains largely unaltered – or is even further reduced.”
The consortium said the 16 schools were facing staff redundancies, reduced hours for support staff, severe depletion of resources, cuts to training and development, and an end to extra-curricular and enrichment activities.
“Put simply, schools need more funding,” the head teachers concluded. “Regardless of party politics and election pledges, we cannot guarantee anything will change unless public opinion demands it.
“We urge parents to make their feelings known now to prevent the potentially catastrophic impact this will have on schools.”
The Department for Education argues it has protected the core schools budget in real terms since 2010, with school funding at a record high at more than £40bn in 2016-17, which will rise to £42bn by 2019-20 as pupil numbers increase.
But Peter Wyllie, the Warwickshire representative for the National Association of Head Teachers, said the claim masked the reality that school budgets were being cut.
Writing to parents of Warwickshire school children, he said: “The reason the Government is spending more on education than ever before is because there are approximately 500,000 additional children in our schools.
“According to the National Audit Office there will be £3billion pounds less in school budgets between 2019 and 2020. This equates to roughly an eight per cent reduction for an individual school’s budget. Put simply, a one-form entry school with seven teachers would have to operate with six.
“The teaching profession is extremely concerned about the effects the budget cuts will have on our children’s education.”
The Rugby Rural East consortium of schools comprises Bawnmore Infants, Bilton Infants and Juniors, Binley Woods Primary, Cawston Grange Primary, Clifton-upon-Dunsmore Primary, Dunchurch Boughton Juniors, Dunchurch Infants, Henry Hinde Infants and Juniors, Knightlow Primary, Princethorpe Primary, Provost Williams Primary, The Revel Primary, Riverside Academy and Wolston Primary.
Visit www.fairfundingforallschools.org, www.fairpupilfunding.co.uk and www.schoolcuts.org.uk for more information and to sign petitions.
