ATL comment on Public Accounts Committee report on financial sustainability of schools

Commenting on the report on the financial sustainability of schools by the Public Accounts Committee, Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said:

“Here is another report that confirms what ATL has been saying all along - that schools are facing the worst funding crisis in a generation! This time it’s the PAC which acknowledges that schools will have to make savings of £3 billion a year by 2019/20.

“The only way that schools can make such significant savings is by reducing staff numbers and, as the PAC has spelled out, this will inevitably lead to larger class sizes, fewer curriculum choices for pupils, less support for vulnerable children - especially those with SEND - increased workloads for staff making it even more difficult to recruit and retain them. In the worst case scenario, schools that don’t make sufficient savings may have to close.

“The Government needs to increase funding for all our schools. The current funding is insufficient and puts in grave jeopardy the hard work by school staff over the last few years to raise educational standards all over the country. The Government is burying it’s head in the sand and has no answers for schools struggling to cope with rising costs and inadequate funding. Rather than using the limited resources to properly fund schools, the Government is spending billions of our taxes purchasing land for new free schools. If the Government does not ensure that all schools receive the funding they need, a generation of children will not receive the education they deserve and parents rightly expect.”