A Spalding headteacher has said that setting a budget has become “a real struggle” as schools are asked to take on more burdens.
Michele Anderson, the headteacher of Spalding High School, criticised government instructions for schools to “spend smarter”, writes Jamie Waller
Teacher pay awards and increasing amounts of special needs have squeezed school budgets even further in recent years.
The headteacher told Lincolnshire Schools Forum on Wednesday (July 2) how tight money had become.
“I have lost sleep and cried tears over my budget this year. More than any other year, this year was a real, real struggle,” she told the forum.
“Having brought in a balanced budget and got the numbers to just about match, I count myself lucky.”
Teachers were awarded a four percent pay rise this year, with schools required to meet one percent from their own budget through “improved productivity and smarter spending”.
Ms Anderson labelled this “at best insensitive, and at worst offensive”.
“That is what I have been trying to do for more than 15 years. It’s comparable with Marie Antoinette’s suggestion about the peasants ‘Let them eat cake’.
“The strategies I’m having to deploy in my school are not going to encourage new teachers into the profession.
“We’re looking at big things like redundancies. We’re looking at increasing class sizes, cutting courses, and alternative staffing arrangements so it’s not a qualified teacher in front of class.”
Martin McKeown, headteacher at Lincoln Christ Hospital School, said he was also disappointed by the Department for Education’s phrasing.
“Smarter spending suggests schools are frivolous with money and are throwing it away,” he said.
“An extra one percent is an awful lot of money for a lot of schools.”
A report at the meeting warned that the number of children classed as having “high needs” was also driving up budget, with “difficult decisions” needed on spending in future.
The government has said that it is investing in schools, with £740m promised earlier this year for 10,000 new places for children with special needs.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “As part of our Plan for Change, we want every family to have access to a good local school for their child, breaking the link between children’s background and their opportunities in life.
“This investment is a big step towards delivering not only enough school places, but the right school places, supporting all children and particularly those with SEND, and plugging the significant gaps in provision we inherited.
“This investment will give children with SEND the support they need to thrive, marking the start of a turning point for families who have been fighting to improve their children’s outcomes.”
