Commenting as the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement announces an
additional £4.6bn for schools, Paul Whiteman, general secretary
of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:
“After so many years of campaigning I am pleased to see that this
Chancellor agrees with us when he says that education is key to
growth. The work schools do to support and educate children and
young people is vital for our country’s future.
“We hope that the additional money announced today will help
bring schools back from the cliff edge that they have been
teetering on. The devil is always in the detail of these things
but the headline announcement is welcome.
“That said, this doesn’t mean schools are completely off the
hook. The truly dire cuts we have been warning about will
hopefully no longer have to be made, but there are a myriad of
pressures still facing schools that will need consideration very
soon. Inflationary pressures are still predicted to rise, with
support for energy bills only guaranteed until April. The demand
for support for special educational needs is huge and core school
funding isn’t enough to solve it. And we still have a serious
recruitment and retention crisis which this does not solve – this
doesn’t go far enough to restore teachers’ and school leaders’
pay after a decade of erosion.
“None-the-less, this brings some relief for schools. We
acknowledge that the Statement has recognised the incredibly
important work that the education sector does. We now await the
full detail behind the announcements – it is crucial that this
money is given to schools to spend as they know is most needed.”
