- Quality of teaching and environment set to dramatically decline as school costs soar, above Government funding rates
- Possible strike action this autumn threatens children's learning and transitions
- Total teacher vacancies reach record high
As staff and children begin a new school year this month, the financial crisis facing many schools looks set to come to a head, with teachers' pay and funding allocation woes set against a backdrop of the cost-of-living squeeze and record inflation rises.
Despite Governmental promises of ‘landmark’ increases in salaries for teachers of between 5 and 8.9 per cent from this month, teaching unions have warned that due to inflation rates of 10.1 per cent and the cost-of-living crisis, this represents a pay cut in real terms.
The National Education Union (NEU) has scheduled a preliminary online strike ballot for state school teachers and leaders in England and Wales from 24 September. The union expects this to be followed by a formal ballot in November, which it has said will be the largest teachers' pay ballot ‘in a generation’.
With teachers stretched to breaking point, especially in the wake of the pandemic, the case for strike action is building. The trade union Community's February 2021 report, The Future of Education, found 22 per cent of its education sector membership planned to leave, with pressures of the role, workload and low pay cited as the three most common reasons for their decision.
Niamh Sweeney, deputy general-secretary of the NEU, said, ‘Teacher pay has fallenby a fifth in real terms since 2010. Workload remains high, and morale is at an all-time low. The recently announced pay increase for teachers is not only inadequate but completely unfunded. Teachers have been asked to forego a decent pay rise in both good economic times and bad. That is why there is a strong case for a strike ballot this autumn, one that will press for a pay rise which at least matches inflation.
‘Educators don't want to strike – we want to be in the classroom teaching our pupils. But we cannot stand by and watch the biggest real term decline in teachers' pay this century.’
Staffing
There are ever-increasing pressures on staff, as total teacher vacancies have reached the highest level since recent records began in 2010-11.
With consistent rises in the number of children requiring an education, health and care (EHC) plan, the need for extra support is increasing, but staff numbers are under threat.
Sweeney said the NEU has found understaffing to be a significant problem.
‘More than a decade of underfunding has cut deep. In their effort to balance the books, many school leaders have sought to carry out redundancies among their support staff – but this has also led to the increasing misuse of those who remain. The workload of lost staff is simply redistributed, and our most recent survey shows that 40 per cent of support staff now work regularly as cover supervisors – equivalent to a supply teacher in practice but not in pay.
‘Cutting down staff numbers in maintained nursery schools is no longer an option. Years of underfunding has meant there are no further redundancies possible. If the Government fails to act, years of austerity made significantly worse by the pandemic will only lead to further closures of these settings, which are usually located in the most deprived areas of the country.’
Letitia McCalla, early years lead at Community, added that the struggle in primary schools to replace experienced staff and support early career teachers (ECTs) could have negative knock-on effects for children.
‘Reception classes are legally required to have minimum staffing levels, so underfunding would be unlikely to affect legal staffing minimums, but would likely prevent additional staff being deployed in Reception,’ she explained. ‘This could affect children with SEND who might benefit from more specialist support, which is expensive.’
Costs
Meanwhile, like households and businesses across the country, schools will be struggling to make ends meet as the cost of living soars.
Although below inflation rates, teachers' pay ‘rises’ will cost schools nearly £1.3 billion next year alone, nearly two-thirds of the extra school budget promised by Government. This is before other costs, including support staff pay, resources and bills, are taken into account. Although core funding to mainstream schools will rise by 6.8 per cent in 2022-23, underlying costs such as the Health and Social Care Levy are expected to increase by 1.8 per cent.
Geoff Barton, general-secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, warned of the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on schools and children.
He said, ‘Many childrencome from disadvantaged backgrounds, and with thecost of living increasing very rapidly, the level of hardship they are facing is likely to become more intense. There will be knock-on effects in the classroom where families are unable to afford to heat their homes or afford healthy food, and children therefore come to school cold and hungry. Schools are used to providing support to childrenin these circumstances – many already discreetly provide food and clothes – but it is unfortunately a major problem that impacts on learning because children in this situation may not be in a fit state to learn.
‘Another big concern is schools face massive extra costs because of rising energy bills, and pay awards for which there is no additional government funding, and this will put pressure on provision and the support they can provide.’
Consequences for children
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) projects that school costs will grow by 4 per cent in 2023-24, which is above expected growth in school funding per pupil (3 per cent).
McCalla said children's learning could be significantly affected by the squeeze.
‘Settings’ costs are rising, and though per pupil funding has risen too, it falls considerably short of the level needed to meet these rises. This is likely to mean reduced activities for pupils in schools.
‘Resources in Reception classes are often renewed each year to cover breakages, but also to replace things that are used up, such as sand, glue, paint, crayons. It is likely that there will be less replacement and pupils will have a reduced choice of activities. This may also include wrap-around care before and after school, or there may be fee increases for this provision.’
However, David Yates, a nursery and Reception teacher at Tinsley Meadows Primary Academy in Sheffield, said he felt confident teachers would develop ways to cope.
‘Budgets can often be very tight. Adults working with children in the early years are used to being creative with the resources that are available. They ensure the environment is tailored to the children’s interests and current learning focus and often source things very cheaply or for free wherever possible. Families and colleagues often provide resources that can be used by the children, and everyday items like pots, pans and kitchen utensils from home make great role-play resources to use in the home corner or mud kitchen outside.
‘All adults working with children in the early years are used to working and thinking creatively and spontaneously. They ensure that time is used productively and that every interaction with a child is a positive learning experience.’
McCalla added that a workforce that could deal with a pandemic would rally to help children even in the face of strike action.
‘Strike action will be temporarily disruptive to pupils, where Covid was monumentally disruptive and caused pupils to miss out on months and years of schooling,’ she said. ‘Schools are doing an amazing job at supporting pupils despite a lack of recovery funding from the Government, and will continue to make an effort to support their pupils following any industrial action.’
From lockdowns to strike action
However, Pat Thomson, a supply teacher based in London, warned the consequences of the pandemic will exacerbate the effects on children of any potential strike.
‘Children I meet every day show signs that the home-schooling during lockdown had a detrimental effect on their learning. I see that in their social skills and learning skills. If there were a national strike and it went on for a long period of time then I could imagine children's learning would suffer.’
Strike action would undeniably threaten children's learning and secure transitions, acknowledged Yates.
‘A national strike would certainly not be conducive tothe ongoing transition of children into Reception andfor older children moving into Key Stage 1 and beyond,’ he said. ‘It is important that children have all the time available to continue learning and embed their developing understanding of the world into that learning.’
CASE STUDY: Cypress Primary School
Ailsa Chapman, assistant head teacher at Cypress Primary School in Croydon, said teacher morale fluctuates depending on the time of year, but hit a low at the end of last term.
‘Teachers are resourceful and resilient, but years of real-term pay cuts and resource funding really take their toll on morale as the term and year goes on. Teachers are generally not in the job for the money, but inflationary pay rises and years of cuts are demoralising.’
The likelihood of a long-term strike was low, she said, but anything could have a negative effect on children.
‘If there are more than one-day strikes, they could be detrimental for continuity of learning for all children, especially those just starting school.’
However, at Cypress, staff have been resilient.
‘Reception staff have always been very creative. They will make use of the resources they have and provide many of them themselves,’ Chapman explained. ‘They source a lot of resources from sites such as Freecycle and request donations from parents and the local community. I think educators are very much problem-solvers and will always find ways around any problems.
‘However, the squeeze on budgets will mean less to spend on big-money items such as furniture, new play equipment and extras such as school trips, which traditionally have enriched the experience for Reception children. Extras such as theatre visits and other visits will be lessened. This all has a huge impact on the overall curriculum we can offer children. When we don't even have enough for the basics, we are really in trouble.’
