Schools funding, 15th September 1995

Each day brings some new revelation about the crisis in schools funding, it's difficult to keep up but the following points might help.

Last week, the Secretary of State for Education, Gillian Shephard was credited with a leaked note presented as some kind of briefing document to the Cabinet's Think Tank exercise. The note warned of "a public perception that schools are underfunded".

The public's concern is of course stronger than a mere perception. "The public" includes parents, teachers, governors, grandparents who have daily experience of the funding crisis of: larger classes, lost teacher posts and fund raising events to provide schools with essential items. "The Public" also includes whole communities which read frequently about some educational problem; the closure of a local school in the "surplus numbers" merry go round; school amalgamations; schools in 101 other difficulties. There is widespread experience of schools underfunding, no wonder Gillian Shephard is worried.

The Daily Mirror has been running a series on Class Size. "Where is the biggest class in Britain?" the paper has been asking. They settled on an Infants School in Cumbria, where 41 six year olds register in one class. Not to be out done The Guardian has found a class of 45 in Goring Primary School, Oxfordshire. This is bad enough but it's not the whole story, journalists know of schools with bigger classes, where the Heads are pleading not to be publicised, subscribing presumably, to the belief that any publicity is bad publicity. Elsewhere this Autumn marks a harvest of increasing class sizes in many LEAs.

The Schools Survey, commissioned by The National Governors Council before the Summer, found that in one year the number of Primary School children in classes over 30 had moved from 28% to 34% of the total. 1/3 of Primary children in classes over 30!
The Survey also found that governors were frantically trying to reduce the number of teacher posts lost. To do this, all other areas of schools budgets were being "pillaged". Governors are well aware that teachers are a most important "resource" in any school, it is a tragedy that to protect teachers in 1995/96 Governors will have to consider inadequate building maintenance provision. School libraries will be hit, SEN programmes cut, the statutory School Development Plans will increasingly appear dreamlike, of another more rational age, as Governors struggle to heat and light leaking schools through the winter.

Meanwhile the Cabinet meets to decide its Autumn Statement, it's that moment in the year when next year's budget begins to take place. Most commentators feel that the government wants to cut taxes by cutting Public spending. The Chancellor sends out Mr Waldegrave to prune wherever possible. Will he cut education again? We have to prove that education cuts will be as politically damaging in the next year's local elections and the forthcoming General Election, as they were before the May 1995 District Council Elections.

We have to continue to bear witness to the cuts, to monitor the harm done, to nag away at all parties. We need to show voters that it's not much good having Tax cuts if you're immediately asked to: buy library books/pay school fund/sponsor a teacher/paint a classroom for your children's school. The Liberal Democrats have said that if necessary they will raise Income Tax by 1p in the £ to fund an adequate education system. Would Labour? The Labour Party's Shadow Secretary for Education is David Blunkett. He has committed Labour to pay the Teachers Pay Award, but Labour has promised little else. F.A.C.E. is as keen to extract commitment from the Opposition as it is from the Government, would a Labour Government work towards a national maximum class size? How would Labour differ from the Government on the question of surplus places?

In the National F.A.C.E. Pack that includes these notes we are distributing a pamphlet from L.S.I. (Local Schools Information) called "What Price Ignorance?", it makes compulsory reading for the education funding protest movement. Look at page 3, LEAs are planning to spend £17,887 million on education this year, the Government allowed for £17,204 million. To bridge the gap Councils have diverted money from other, often hard pressed, services. Nevertheless the estimate is that £125 million has been cut from school budgets. These numbers will be worth recalling when the Government begins to indicate how much it is planning to spend next year. Another figure highlighted by L.S.I. (see page 7 of the pamphlet) is the total amount needed by LEAs in 1996/97, that is £18,516.4 million. In his Birmingham speech on April 1st, John Major said that education would be a priority, there would be more money. Well, the Local Authorities have said how much they need to restore 1994 pupil teacher ratios, it's £18.5 million, this is the lowest figure we should expect. To build a fine education service - one in which statutory duties are discharged, class sizes are reasonable, buildings acceptable etc. - we need higher levels of funding. We are all faced with the questions.
What do our schools actually need?
How much will it cost?

Each section of the schools funding protest movement should be considering these questions, we should be converging on baseline demands, raising the issues of class size etc. in a way that makes them unavoidable.