Authorities accused of ‘inhabiting alternate actuality’ over faculty funding

The authorities has been accused of “inhabiting an alternate reality” after it “re-announced” a £2bn funding pledge to assist faculties.

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) stated the additional money was not enough and comes after a decade of cuts “that have left budgets teetering on the brink of disaster”.

On Wednesday, the DfE stated faculties would begin to obtain new cash from May following the extra £2.3bn funding first promised by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in his Autumn Statement.

Under the plans, a typical major faculty will obtain roughly £35,000 and a typical secondary faculty £200,000.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan stated this could guarantee lecturers have the sources they want.

But Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the ASCL, stated: “The additional money will not be sufficient to cover increased costs in many schools and it is inevitable that there will need to be further cuts.

“The Department for Education (DfE) more and more appears as if it’s inhabiting an alternate actuality, completely divorced from what is definitely occurring within the system it’s meant to supervise.”

The authorities additionally stated it might calm down the rule which says specialist funding for falling pupil numbers ought to solely be for faculties judged good or excellent at their final OFSTED inspection.

It comes after a drop within the variety of functions for major faculty locations in London, with the falling beginning fee believed to be the principle cause for decline in demand.

The ASCL, together with the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) union, stated eradicating the OFSTED ranking requirement was welcome however solely a minor concession for the challenges faculties face.

Paul Whiteman, basic secretary of NAHT, stated: “The reforms around funding for schools with falling numbers are welcome.

“But this stays a comparatively minor tweak that will not tackle the extra basic funding challenges faculties are presently going through.”

He said the cash injection was “merely a reannouncement of funding that has already been promised to the sector”.

“No one must be fooled into pondering that that is new cash. Even with this funding, there’s clear proof that faculties will proceed to have make cuts within the face of quickly rising prices.”

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) previously said the £2bn funding promised in the autumn statement would allow school spending to return to at least 2010 levels in real-terms.

The announcement today comes as unions are locked in a bitter row with the government over teacher pay, with the National Education Union (NEU) due to strike tomorrow.

According to a survey commissioned by education charity The Sutton Trust, half of school leaders are having to cut back on trips, while two in three are cutting teaching assistants and nearly three in four (71%) say their school has had difficulties recruiting teachers this year.

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The findings, published on Wednesday, also found 41% of senior leaders said money from the pupil premium – extra funding to support the most disadvantaged youngsters – is being used to plug gaps elsewhere in their school’s budget.

The government said schools could choose how to invest the extra funding they will receive, but it is expected to primarily support salary uplifts for teachers and help with increased running costs, school trips and learning materials.

Among other changes to the National Funding Formula (NFF) to be introduced from 2024-25, councils will be set expectations around the minimum funding they must provide to support schools seeing large increases in pupil numbers.

Schools with more than one site will also receive funding on a consistent national basis to help with extra costs they face due to the need to duplicate services, such as caretaking across multiple sites, the DfE said.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: “Teachers should proceed to have the sources they want, and this further money will be sure that they do.

“With school funding set to be at its highest ever level next year, even accounting for inflation, parents everywhere can be confident schools are being supported to let teachers get on and do what they do best – teach.”