Commenting on the IPPR report ‘The New Normal: The future of
education after Covid-19’, Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the
Association of School and College Leaders, said:
“Schools have had to severely cut their budgets because of
government underfunding of the education system, so support
services for vulnerable pupils have inevitably reduced over the
past decade, alongside many other areas of provision.
“In fact, we have repeatedly warned the government of the impact
on these services as a result of funding pressures.
“Despite these difficult circumstances, schools continue to do
their very best for vulnerable young people through classroom and
pastoral support, targeting their resources with great care
according to the needs of their pupils.
“But they desperately need more money for this type of provision
as well as the many other expectations that society expects them
to fulfil.
“The government has committed more money to schools through to
2022/23 which we welcome, but it is important to understand that
this is not sufficient to reverse the cuts that have taken place,
and that more funding will be needed if we are to repair the
holes in our education system.
“These financial pressures have been worsened by the fact that
schools are currently having to foot the bill for putting in
place Covid safety controls without any additional financial
support from the government.”
