Excellent Letter from headteachers to the Chancellor. Save Our Schools. Will your headteacher sign?

 

I hope Brent headteachers will sign this letter that sets the issues out with great clarity:

 

We the undersigned, all being head teachers at state schools in England, are very concerned about the damage being done to the education system by the worsening problem of teacher shortages. Recruitment and retention have never been so challenging as they are at this present time. It is becoming increasingly difficult to put a qualified teacher in front of every class. We fear that educational provision and standards are at risk unless urgent action is taken to address this gathering crisis.

  

At a time like this, it is more important than ever that we have certainty that the pay award for 2023/24 will begin to address these problems. We are aware that you are in possession of the School Teachers’ Review Body recommendation. According to media reports, this recommendation is for a 6.5% pay uplift. It is of the utmost importance that you publish this report at the earliest date, together with confirmation of whether the government will agree to this recommendation. It is also vital that the government commits to funding any pay award for every school. This must not be based upon a notional assessment of what is affordable for an average school. There is no such thing as an average school and our concern is that many schools will once again be left in a position of having to cut staffing numbers in order to afford the pay award.

 

We must have certainty over the pay award and associated funding in order to give us some degree of confidence that the government is committed to addressing the deepening problems with recruitment and retention, and so that schools and trusts are able to budget for the new academic year. The late publication of the STRB report that we have seen in recent years makes it impossible to plan with any degree of financial certainty. No business could operate in an environment in which staffing costs were decided at the last minute and without sufficient funding to pay those costs, and yet this is how the government expects to run a vital public service.

 

This is a time when the government must act in the interests of children and young people by urgently putting in place a funding and pay settlement which eases the immediate crisis and establishes a foundation on which to build. Parents will rightly expect the education system to be properly resourced, and the workforce deserves a better deal which rebuilds morale and properly values the importance of teaching to the future of the country. We call upon you to show vision by backing education.

 

 

SIGN THE LETTER HERE

 

London headteachers fear for the future of high quality education in the face of budget cuts

From London Councils
 

London is experiencing a school funding crisis that is damaging the quality of education schools can provide, research commissioned by London Councils has revealed. Headteachers face huge challenges in coping with reducing budgets, recruiting and retaining teachers, and managing teachers’ workload so that they can deliver the best quality education for our schoolchildren.

Talking Heads, a survey of nearly 400 London head teachers and senior school leaders, lays bare the negative impact of insufficient funding on teacher and teaching assistant numbers, curriculum options, learning resources such as IT equipment and textbooks, and the upkeep of school buildings.

Another key challenge addressed by the report is recruitment and retention of high quality teachers. London headteachers are finding it increasingly hard to recruit and retain teaching staff due to the challenges of the profession as well as high living costs and house prices. Primary schools are struggling to fill classroom teacher vacancies, while secondary schools are struggling most with recruiting subject leaders.

Cllr Peter John OBE, Deputy Chair of London Councils and Executive member with responsibility for education, said:

Our research paints a bleak picture of the financial challenges threatening the future of London’s education system from the perspective of the head teachers and school leaders who have worked to transform the capital’s schools into the best in the country.

Headteachers fear that young Londoners will not be able to receive a top-quality education in the years ahead due to increased costs and inadequate funding for schools.

The UK is on course to leave the European Union in 2019 and ensuring young people have the skills to succeed and contribute to the growth of the economy has never been more important.

We’re calling on Government to recognise that schools are facing significant additional cost pressures, and to protect school funding in real terms to address these pressures. This would give head teachers the freedom to focus on helping children to realise their potential at school so they respond positively to the challenges and opportunities that spring from Brexit.

Download the report HERE

How heads can resist forced academies

It was clear listening yesterday to the parents from Snaresbrook Primary School, who successfully fought against forced academisation, that they were greatly aided by the fact that the senior leadership team, governing body, and local authority all opposed to forced academisation and supported their campaign. In this video Rob Kelsall of the National Association of Head Teachers addresses what head teachers and governing bodies can do. So far in Brent there have been at least two forced primary academies and unfortunately the local authority has not been forthright in its opposition or in its support for parent campaigners.