Nov 8, 2022, London Loves Business: Half of UK schools are poised to cut teaching jobs https://londonlovesbusiness.com/half-of-uk-schools-are-poised-to-cut-teaching-jobs/
A survey of more than 11,000 schools carried out by the school leaders’ union has found that half of schools are looking at cutting teachers or teaching hours.
Meanwhile, two-thirds say they will have to reduce the number of teaching assistants Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, told Sky News: “Failure to increase budgets would be catastrophic for young people.
“We can see the attainment gap widening for those that are most vulnerable to those other children right now as well. And it would be a disaster for the country, at the same time, too, we need to invest in this country’s future, which means investing in young people.”
Julie McCulloch, the director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders. “What we know is that those schools that have the highest number of children with special educational needs or other additional needs are going to bear the brunt mostly here and that’s because they just won’t be able to employ as many teaching assistants and support assistants,” she said.
“So what’s really worrying here is that our most vulnerable children and young people as ever are likely to be hit hardest.”
The Department for Education said: “We understand that schools are facing cost pressures which is why we are providing them with £53.8bn [$6.1B] this year in core funding, including a cash increase of £4bn [$4.6B] for this financial year. This is a 7% per pupil increase in cash terms across schools and high needs.
“All schools will benefit from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, reducing how much they need to spend on their energy and giving them greater certainty over their budgets over the winter months. We are also providing schools with tools and information to help get the best value for money from their resources.”
