AM confronted the First Minister earlier today as he
stood up for the exasperated Association of School and College
Leaders, who have been driven to publish an open letter to
Minister for Education , pleading for a better deal
for schools across the country.
The First Minister faced questions from Mr
Davies in the chamber about the damning letter, which today
described a 'severe funding crisis' in Welsh schools. Mr
Davies demanded answers on why
schools aren't being equipped with the resources
needed to support the next generation of learners.
Schools across Wales have struggled for decades
under Labour-led Governments, with the situation reaching a
crisis-point in the eyes of education experts.
Despite the Barnett Formula and according to the
NASUWT Teachers' Union, pupils in Wales receive ??645 less
per head than those in England. Schools are being assigned a
'totally inadequate level of funding' and concerns have also
been raised over a non-transparent system that sees ??450million
of education funding never reach the classroom.
As a result of this poor approach by the Welsh
Government, teachers are reporting rising class sizes, the
cutting of non-compulsory activities, and decreasing numbers of
support staff. Professionals continue to leave the profession in
droves, with 1,416 fewer teachers employed in Wales in 2018
compared with 2010.
The stark warning from the ASCL urges the Welsh
Labour-led Government to do more to address
the mis-management of funding for schools, which it
says threaten reforms to the education system, and
could see budget deficits becoming the norm in schools across the
country.
Speaking outside the chamber, AM said:
'Regrettably, the Welsh Labour Government
continues to dismiss the serious concerns of the education
workforce, and as a result we have a system here in
Wales which is not consistent and has no transparency.
'We see some schools, especially in rural areas,
miss out on vital funding purely because of their
location.
'Welsh Conservatives have a long-standing policy
to fund schools directly, which would remove significant layers
of bureaucracy to ensure more money gets into the classroom and
to learners.'
