My video on the School cuts and ending the uncertain future for Schools in Northumberland
2017 Parliamentary Candidate and Northumberland Labour Group Chair Scott Dickinson calls for the uncertainty for schools in North Northumberland to be ended with all schools rural and urban given a fair deal in Northumberland
In recent weeks and months, we have seen lots of news around schools and funding changes proposed across the Country. Here in Northumberland we have seen figures that could see Northumberland schools collectively lose £16million pounds.
This weekend we read Ian Lavery calling for a fair funding deal for Wansbeck schools that could see up to £4.9million lost from his constituency alone.
Last week Cllr Jackson the new Tory Leader in Northumberland said the County would benefit from £2.2million extra which simply isn’t the case. Whichever way you look at it and calculate it Northumberland loses money. Its quite concerning that the Leader of the Council doesn’t know that.
In North Northumberland schools across the area are set to see thousands vanish from already cash strapped rural schools. Scott fears that many of these schools will simply have to close and see boards on windows of what are generally the hearts of communities.
Scott has asked that the Government recognise the rural nature of education and the pressures that can often bring to schools and the additional costs often incurred from schools in rural areas.
Over the last few months we have seen the unprecedented actions from headteachers in Northumberland asking parents for contributions, considering merging to save more money and closures out for consultation. On all these things Tory MP’s remain silent, hoping that no action will come.
If they can find £1billion to buy in votes they can find the money to provide the next generation with the right level of funding to help them achieve.
Scott said: “ Small rural schools cannot sustain this attack on their funding, we will see many schools close and children being asked to travel unacceptable distances. Currently protections are in place for smaller children about travelling but I fear these protections will be lost as the County will struggle to meet them.”
“This is a blatant attack on young people, removing the opportunities for young people to access good education. We see schools having to spend much of their budgets on repairing schools since the building programs were scrapped to make them safe. Questions are being asked as to whether part of this is about forcing schools into a position of educational decline through lack of funding and suitable buildings to then Ofsted can rate them inadequate and hand the assets over to the Academy Chains. This does nothing apart from Privatise children’s education and puts at risk our valued and committed staff.”
“I would urge the government to look again at it’s plans and back down from these austerity cuts to education that are risking the future of young people.”
Notes of additional information:
Schools with the most deprived intakes would face the greatest average losses in real terms - £579 per pupil in primary schools, and £784 in secondaries.
The average real terms loss for primary schools would be £96,481, or £401 per pupil.
The average real terms loss for secondary schools would be £290,228, or £365 per pupil.
In addition:
Nine in ten schools in England (92%) could face budget cuts in real terms over the next four years.
No local authority area is likely to see a real terms funding increase for its schools and academies, even after the redistributive impact of a new formula.
Average budget cuts could be 6.5% in primary schools and 9% in secondary schools.
