ASCL comment on EPI school funding report

Commenting on the Education Policy Institute’s (EPI) report on school funding pressures, Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:

“This report shows that many schools are so cash-strapped they are unable to afford even a meagre pay rise of 1% for their staff next year without having to make further cuts. The government has failed to provide schools with funding for pay awards over the course of several years, and this is one of a series of additional cost pressures which have pushed school finances to breaking point. Staffing cuts are not just likely in the future, as the EPI report suggests, but have already taken place in many schools. 

“If the government values education it must put its money where its mouth is and provide schools with the funding they need to give all of our young people the very best start in life, and it must fully fund decent pay awards for school staff after years of austerity.”