School leaders call for urgent action over pension grant shortfalls

The Association of School and College Leaders and school leaders' union, NAHT, have written to Education Secretary Gillian Keegan over shortfalls in the government grant to cover increased pension costs in schools.

The Teachers' Pension Employer Contribution Grant is supposed to cover the additional cost of a five percentage-point increase in the employer contribution rate. However, the unions have received reports from school leaders where the amount of grant funding for their school falls short – including by amounts of £70,000 or more. This is on top of other severe financial pressures on schools caused by rising costs and government underfunding.

The letter, from Pepe Di'Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, and Paul Whiteman, NAHT General Secretary, urges the Education Secretary to provide supplementary funding for schools where there are shortfalls.

And it concludes: “The sector is currently locked in a downward spiral of underfunding and cuts, and we fear that despite the best efforts of school and college leaders to minimise the impact on pupils and students, it is inevitable that educational provision will suffer.”

The letter can read here.