Education unions have reacted strongly to the UK Education Secretary’s announcement of a consultation on the school funding system in England, saying that the government’s proposals do not address inequalities of access to education and too many schools will lose funding.
NASUWT: Need to tackle access inequalities
“The delay in publishing the consultation on the national funding formula for schools indicates that even the Government recognises the scale of the challenge involved in creating a funding formula which enables schools to secure the educational entitlements of all children and young people,” said Chris Keates, National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) General Secretary.
“A key challenge the government faces in securing a fair funding system is a legacy of the last six years of misguided economic austerity which has been to the detriment of schools and pupils,” she added. The government needs to be able to demonstrate that its funding reform proposals are fit for purpose. And it also needs to secure confidence from schools, teachers and the public that these are the right proposals in the circumstances, Keates added.
A key test for the government’s funding proposals is whether they will support schools in tackling the profound inequalities of access to education. “A real danger” of the Government’s National Funding Formula proposals is that they will reduce or remove vital support for students from poorer backgrounds and those from families which are just about managing. “The NASUWT will judge the National Funding Formula on its contribution to building a fairer and more just country that works for everyone,” she said.
NUT: Lasting damage
The National Union of Teachers (NUT) also believes the government’s proposed changes to the school funding system do not begin to address the key issue for schools - the government’s imposition of the biggest real terms cuts in a generation. “Funding cannot be ‘fair’ if it is not sufficient,” said NUT General Secretary Kevin Courtney. Even schools gaining under the new system are likely to see those gains more than offset by the real cuts to school funding overall, he said.
The NUT has told the Government it must support any new funding formula with enough extra money to ensure real increases for schools, so that much-needed funding increases for schools in some areas are not paid for by cuts for schools in other areas.
“No school can afford to lose funding without it affecting the life chances of children,” said Courtney. “On its current direction of travel, the Government will cause lasting damage to our children's futures.” In fact, the lack of significant new funding is jeopardising the chances of a good education for all.
The NUT predicts that, in real terms, 90 per cent or more of schools will be worse off even after the funding reform, including many in the most deprived areas.“Today's decision to redistribute funding without putting in the extra money needed to protect some schools against even bigger cuts shows that the Government doesn't really care about the impact of its funding policy either,” Courtney concluded.