Commenting on the Chancellor’s speech, Daniel Kebede,
General Secretary of the National Education Union,
said:
“The economy is struggling to achieve growth, and
the Government has downgraded its own growth forecasts in
today’s statement. Investing properly in education is an urgent
and overriding economic priority, yet what we have seen today is
nothing of the sort.
“Just 3.9% of UK GDP is spent on education, compared to the OECD
average of 5%. This was highlighted to in a letter earlier this month
from the leaders of four education unions, including the NEU. (1)
The Chancellor’s response is completely inadequate and makes a
mockery of the Prime Minister’s repeated claim that education is
at the heart of this Government’s priorities.
“It should be of great concern to that 92% of mainstream schools
will be unable to cope with cost increases in 2024/25. For 99% of
secondary schools and 91% of primary schools, cuts to education
provision are now inevitable. (2)
“These schools have already seen years of under-investment, and
in far too many cases school buildings have drifted into serious
disrepair. The Chancellor couldn’t even bring himself to fund
urgent work on the school estate, following the RAAC scandal
which has brought such embarrassment to this Government. This
would require at least £4.4bn per year. (3)
“With underfunded and understaffed schools and colleges, and
school buildings crumbling, the Government must prioritise
investment in schools and colleges and fund a fair pay rise for
staff next year. Teachers and support staff have seen their
living standards hammered since 2010. Our member surveys show
that a majority are ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ worried about keeping
up with household bills. (4) They have been hit even harder by
pay cuts against inflation than other workers, creating major
recruitment and retention problems.
“More of the same is not good enough – and it certainly fails
parents and young people, too. In order to recruit and retain the
teachers that we so clearly need, the Government must demonstrate
they value them. That means an urgent, properly funded and major
correction in pay, alongside the investment needed to reduce
sky-high workload and to make school and college buildings fit
for purpose. The Chancellor’s statement does nothing to repair
the damage caused by 13 years of Conservative cuts. The
Government will pay a heavy political price for continuing to
ignore the problems it has created for educators, parents and
young people.”
Editor’s Note
- Joint union call for significant
increased in school funding, 9 November: https://neu.org.uk/latest/press-releases/joint-union-call-significant-increase-school-funding
- School Cuts relaunch, 15 November:
https://neu.org.uk/latest/press-releases/school-cuts-relaunch
- Joint call to solve school
buildings crisis, 25 September: https://neu.org.uk/latest/press-releases/joint-call-solve-school-buildings-crisis
- Teachers feel severely underpaid,
18 November: https://neu.org.uk/latest/press-releases/teachers-feel-severely-underpaid
