Commenting on the government’s announcement that the Covid-19
workforce fund will be extended until 8 April, Geoff Barton,
General Secretary of the Association of School and College
Leaders, said:
“We welcome the government’s announcement that the Covid-19
workforce fund will be extended until the start of the Easter
holiday. The support this fund gives to schools is badly needed
to help them to plug the gaps in budgets left by the
extraordinary expenses run up during the pandemic.
“However, the bar for eligibility to the fund is set far too high
and requires schools to have below a certain level of reserves in
order to qualify for support. That means the funding on offer is
out of reach for many schools and it has always been our view
that it should be made available as widely as possible and
without so many caveats.
“The pressure on budgets for many schools has ramped up in recent
months as a direct result of having to bring in many supply staff
to cover for the high levels of staff absence they have
experienced and, in many cases, continue to experience because of
Covid.
“The government should be providing more support to schools with
these costs in such extraordinary circumstances rather than
putting obstacles in their way. The support the Covid workforce
fund offers is vital and should come without so many strings
attached.”
