Commenting on the Budget Speech by the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary
of the National Education
Union, said:
“The Government had a big political choice to make in today’s
Budget – to invest in education, or to continue with its damaging
policy of real terms cuts. The Budget, with no significant
new money for education, shows that the Government has chosen to
ignore the anger of parents and the clear evidence of the
problems being created by real terms cuts to education.
Parents and teachers will be deeply
disappointed.
“Despite the worsening teacher recruitment and retention crisis
and the huge real terms cuts in teacher pay since 2010, the
Chancellor had nothing to offer teachers or the profession.
Instead of school staff losing jobs or seeing the value of their
pay cut, the Government needs to invest in those working in
education.
“The Budget has failed the key tests the National Education Union
set for the Government on education funding. The Chancellor
has failed to reverse the real terms education cuts; failed to
provide new money to fully fund all areas of education; failed to
level-up funding to address historic underfunding; and failed to
guarantee the investment needed for future years.
“We note the announcement of £42m for teacher training, which
translates to about £1000 per teacher in selected schools. The
only credible response to the widespread and worsening teacher
recruitment problems is to properly invest in education,
including fully funded proper pay levels across the profession,
not sticking-plaster solutions like this that have not worked in
the past.
“The Government’s goal should be to invest in a broad and
balanced, fully funded curriculum for all children and young
people. Offering schools in desperate financial circumstances
£600 per student if they take up A-Level maths could steer
students towards subject choices that may not be in their
interests. If this investment isn't accompanied by significant
new funding for schools then it won't make enough of a difference
to pupils' life chances and skills development and is a drop in
the ocean compared to billions of real terms cuts to per pupil
funding. The announcement on funding for T-Levels is
nothing more than a drop in the ocean compared to the huge real
terms cuts to 16-19 funding since 2010. There are no plans
to restore Education Maintenance Allowance funding to support
young people.
“The Chancellor's words about understanding the frustrations of
families whose budgets are under pressure were backed up by very
little in the way of action. There was no comfort for the
families of the 5.2 million children who will be growing up in
poverty over the next five years.
“With nine out of ten
schools facing real terms cuts per pupil, the Government
is telling parents today that their children deserve less than
was spent on children in previous years. Schools need £2
billion a year extra funding to restore real terms per pupil
funding to 2015-16 levels.
“Austerity has failed the economy and it is damaging the future
of our children and young people. Damaging their future
means damaging our future economic prosperity. The huge
economic problems we face cannot be addressed without equipping
children and young people with the skills our country needs, but
instead of investing in our future the Government persists with
its real terms cuts to education. The National Education
Union will continue to campaign alongside parents for the
investment our children and young people need.”
