UK: Scottish school crisis: 'Demand for essential services outstrips our ability to pay'

Aug 6, 2018, Times: Councils ‘have no cash for essential services’ https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/councils-have-no-cash-for-essential-services-jhvgd2h59 Schools in Scotland are struggling financially and councils say that they can no longer cover all essential services. The message from Cosla, the umbrella body for Scotland’s local authorities, came after figures were released showing the extent of cuts to school budgets over the past decade. A spokesman for the council body said that there was now a clear gap between what local authorities should be providing and what they could afford to pay for. “We are faced with a situation where demand for our essential services outstrips our ability to pay for them all,” he said. Cosla was reacting to statistics from the Scottish parliament’s information centre showing a £400 million cut to the schools budget over ten years. According to the independent research unit the sum spent by councils on schools was £5.3 billion in 2009-10 but had fallen to £4.9 billion in 2017-18, a decline of 7.5 per cent or £400 million. Secondary schools have lost the most, having £354 million less now than nine years ago. The special education budget was also reduced, from £575 million to £548 million. Funding for primary schools rose slightly, from £1.9 billion to £1.95 billion, while funding for pre-primary education increased from £358 million to £410 million. These figures are the latest to detail the extent of council budget cuts in general and education in particular. … There are about 3,500 fewer teachers than a decade ago. The rector of Madras College in St Andrews said last week that his school might have to move to a four-and-a-half-day week due to budget cuts…. A spokesman for the Scottish government said that ministers had managed Scotland’s finances “prudently and competently” despite Brexit and a squeeze on budgets from Westminster. The spokesman said that overall funding to councils had increased in real terms. He added: “We are committing £750 million during the course of this parliament to tackle the poverty related attainment gap and ensure every child in Scotland has an equal chance to succeed, including another £120 million pupil equity funding direct to schools this year.”… The spokesman added that councils could raise council tax rates to generate more money for local services. “Local authorities are directly responsible for spending on music tuition in schools. Overall funding to councils is increasing in real terms, despite continued UK government cuts to Scotland’s resource budget. “While respecting the autonomy of local councils, Scottish ministers have committed to working in collaboration with partners to find solutions that help ensure instrumental music remains accessible to all.”

SEE RECENT COVERAGE: (UK) Scottish children denied mental health services; one in five rejected July 12, 2018, (UK) Herald Scotland: Agenda: Scottish Government must make mental health a priority http://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/16349277.agenda-scottish-government-must-make-mental-health-a-priority/ (UK) Thousands of Scottish children denied mental health services July 8, 2018, Scotsman: Insight: Young lives ruined as pleas for mental health treatment rejected https://www.scotsman.com/news/health/insight-young-lives-ruined-as-pleas-for-mental-health-treatment-rejected-1-4765666 (UK) Scotland: $1.5M (US) for mental health help at Borders schools June 15, 2018, BBC: Scottish Borders pupil mental health service yet to start https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-44494666 (UK) Scotland: Teachers threaten to strike; unable to cope with number of SPED kids June 10, 2018, (UK) Scotsman: John Swinney warned of strike over schools policy https://www.scotsman.com/news/education/john-swinney-warned-of-strike-over-schools-policy-1-4752073 (UK) Scotland: "26.6% of pupils have additional support needs"; lots of "low level bad behavior" Mar 17, 2018, (UK) Scotsman: Low level disruption – the new ‘norm’ blighting our schools https://www.scotsman.com/news/education/low-level-disruption-the-new-norm-blighting-our-schools-1-4707668 (UK) Scotland: Teachers are ‘beyond breaking point’ coping with complex/challenging special needs students Feb 3, 2018, (UK) Scotsman: Insight: Scottish classrooms are in chaos https://www.scotsman.com/news/education/insight-scottish-classrooms-are-in-chaos-1-4682042