Teachers warn of squeeze on special needs budgetsÂ

HEADTEACHERS have warned that special needs teaching in particular is feeling the pinch as school budgets drop.
Teachers have warned that special needs teaching will feel the pinch of budget cuts. Picture: shutterstockTeachers have warned that special needs teaching will feel the pinch of budget cuts. Picture: shutterstock
Teachers have warned that special needs teaching will feel the pinch of budget cuts. Picture: shutterstock

Yesterday The News reported that teachers across the area are worried about the effects of the soon-to-be-implemented national funding formula on their schools. 

Overall, the majority of schools are set to lose money under the changes.

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According to headteachers, this is because while '˜core funding' may be staying almost the same, all the additional grants that helped with staffing and equipment for special needs pupils are being cut back. So because these costs have to be paid for out of the main budget, the school has less to spend.

Over the last decade figures suggest fairly consistent investment in Portsmouth's children.

In 2008 the average investment in a secondary school student was £3,205 whilst in 2017 per pupil funding had increased to £3,974. 

As executive headteacher of Salterns Trust, Steve Labedz is responsible for Trafalgar and Admiral Lord Nelson schools.

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'˜The government have stuck to their promise. Core funding has remained fairly consistent. What they have done is reduced everything else and scrapped half the grants that used to exist by which you could function,' said Mr Labedz.

The result is that schools now have to use this core funding to cover many of the additional costs which used to be supported by additional revenue streams.

'˜All those pots of additional money which used to top up our funding have pretty much gone,' added Mr Labedz 

The common consensus from headteachers is that it is the region's most vulnerable children who could potentially suffer. 

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'˜If you only fund a school in terms of per pupil funding then all you can really afford is teachers '“ nothing else. So the current army of support staff which we currently employ because we need them we can't actually afford,' explained Mr Labedz.

Funding for special educational needs and disability is an area of particular concern due to the reduction in '˜high needs' top up funding available to schools.

Simon Graham, headteacher at St Edmund's Catholic School, is particularly concerned.

Mr Graham said: '˜SEND is a massive issue for schools needing to fund student health-care plans. The school has to pay the first £6,000, the maximum support you can apply for is £10,000. If a student needs full time support from a teaching assistant then the remaining cost of that salary has to come out of the school's mainstream budget.'

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'˜Ten years ago the school I was in charge of had around 30 students on support plans for which we would attract around £300,000 of additional SEND funding. Now I have a similar number of students on support plans and we got £15,000 of additional money,' added Mr Labedz.

The situation is compounded by rising costs and curriculum change.

'˜The cost of everything is going up yet funding isn't. The government introduced a whole new curriculum which requires new resources, text books and CPD. There was no input of additional funding to support that,' explained Mr Graham.

'˜It is more expensive  to run a school than ever before. National insurance and pension contributions have gone up. The cost of IT systems have risen yet school budgets have remained static or shrunk,' added Mr Labedz.