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, in Wales pupils 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.”
