Teachers of resilience
Though some of us may have disliked school when we were younger (not me, I was embarrassingly nerdy), it is impossible to not appreciate the strength that teachers are showing in the face of adversity right now. Presently, class sizes are growing, staff numbers are dropping and money for resources has been stripped to the bone. This coincides with the rising level of child poverty; children are presenting at school with empty stomachs and dirty clothes. Recently, schools have merged into a 'fourth emergency service', according to the head of the Association of School and College Leaders, Geoff Barton. I could not agree more, schools are providing services that should be ran by local councils, but more importantly, should not be needed at all.
Poverty has become strikingly common and, while the Government practise obscurantism, teachers have been picking up the slack. Local services such as youth centres and in-school counselling have seen their funding slashed and parents feel that they have nowhere to turn. Ninety-six percent of teachers agree that pupil poverty has risen within the past few years. Of 407 schools surveyed, many schools have opened food banks (45%), provided clothing (91%) and have even had to clean pupils' uniforms (47%). Further still, some teachers have cut and deloused children's hair. Children need to be comfortable in order to learn effectively, so teachers feel it their duty to ensure students are prepared for the classroom.
Times were bad when schools had to ask for money for pencils, but when support staff have been made redundant or are made to work overtime without pay, the problem becomes disturbing. Since 2015, schools have lost an average of 5.5 members of staff including 2.4 classroom teachers. This is leading to untrained staff filling in the gaps; in a recent survey of over 12,000 support staff, 70% stated that they had performed tasks above their pay grade. Although Damian Hinds suggests that schools can counter these cuts with 'restructuring of staff' or revising 'resource management', 38% of staff had seen their school restructured more than once in the last five years. Redundancies are a short term solution to a chronic issue of under-funding that only leads to increased class sizes and lower safety standards.
What is more, schools are being forced to close early to save pounds. In the spotlight, MP Jess Phillips' child's school will begin closing an hour and twenty minutes earlier on a Friday to save £18,500 per year. Not only will children miss out on classroom time, parents will have to change their working life to pick up their children early or shell out for childcare. Perhaps more alarmingly, her child's school may not be able to provide for children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), and therefore those with SEND may need to move schools. These cuts have left two thousand children with SEND still awaiting provisions. The educational system is failing to support the most vulnerable. Surely no child should be shunned for being disabled.
A new system for money distribution in the UK, dubbed the 'National Funding Formula' (NFF) is to be ran 2021. The NFF should balance the 'skewed funding' across the country, giving more money to those in deprived areas. This has, surprisingly, not been popular. While some schools may see a rise, many will see a major loss. The scheme is based on statistics from 2004, and needless to say, much as changed since then. Moreover, schools are already losing money, so taking money from schools in 'privileged' areas will cause more harm than good. Likewise, the scheme does not include any more money, so is not contributing towards the deficit facing schools.
The government claimed that the UK had the third highest spending on education in the world; however, the UK Statistics Association corrected him as he had included university tuition fees and fee paying schools. Too add to this ignorance, Philip Hammond's bonus for 'little extras' barely scratches the surface of what is needed. Schools are being forced to close due to heating faults, use buckets to catch drips from rain and have cracked flooring. Most schools are simply not fit for purpose. It becomes more and more expensive to maintain the buildings as they fall into disrepair.
Teachers are doing their best with what they have, but as that is becoming less and less, it is increasingly difficult. With inflation and a growing population of children, real term losses are sitting at 8% of funding. As the government insist on cutting more social services, schools are being used as a substitute. If the government can afford to give £9 billion worth of tax cuts for the highest earners, they can surely afford to pay for the future of the country. Those missing out on education now are our future doctors, police officers and politicians; minimising their education now will only lead to issues further down the line.
To counter the losses, many schools are running fundraising schemes. My local primary school's teacher, Mr Wilkinson, is running the London Marathon to secure funds for their play therapist, who plays an integral part of their support staff. If you would like to support him, please visit: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/james-wilkinson.
To see how your local area is affected, visit: schoolcuts.org.uk/
Poverty has become strikingly common and, while the Government practise obscurantism, teachers have been picking up the slack. Local services such as youth centres and in-school counselling have seen their funding slashed and parents feel that they have nowhere to turn. Ninety-six percent of teachers agree that pupil poverty has risen within the past few years. Of 407 schools surveyed, many schools have opened food banks (45%), provided clothing (91%) and have even had to clean pupils' uniforms (47%). Further still, some teachers have cut and deloused children's hair. Children need to be comfortable in order to learn effectively, so teachers feel it their duty to ensure students are prepared for the classroom.
Times were bad when schools had to ask for money for pencils, but when support staff have been made redundant or are made to work overtime without pay, the problem becomes disturbing. Since 2015, schools have lost an average of 5.5 members of staff including 2.4 classroom teachers. This is leading to untrained staff filling in the gaps; in a recent survey of over 12,000 support staff, 70% stated that they had performed tasks above their pay grade. Although Damian Hinds suggests that schools can counter these cuts with 'restructuring of staff' or revising 'resource management', 38% of staff had seen their school restructured more than once in the last five years. Redundancies are a short term solution to a chronic issue of under-funding that only leads to increased class sizes and lower safety standards.What is more, schools are being forced to close early to save pounds. In the spotlight, MP Jess Phillips' child's school will begin closing an hour and twenty minutes earlier on a Friday to save £18,500 per year. Not only will children miss out on classroom time, parents will have to change their working life to pick up their children early or shell out for childcare. Perhaps more alarmingly, her child's school may not be able to provide for children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), and therefore those with SEND may need to move schools. These cuts have left two thousand children with SEND still awaiting provisions. The educational system is failing to support the most vulnerable. Surely no child should be shunned for being disabled.
The government claimed that the UK had the third highest spending on education in the world; however, the UK Statistics Association corrected him as he had included university tuition fees and fee paying schools. Too add to this ignorance, Philip Hammond's bonus for 'little extras' barely scratches the surface of what is needed. Schools are being forced to close due to heating faults, use buckets to catch drips from rain and have cracked flooring. Most schools are simply not fit for purpose. It becomes more and more expensive to maintain the buildings as they fall into disrepair.
Teachers are doing their best with what they have, but as that is becoming less and less, it is increasingly difficult. With inflation and a growing population of children, real term losses are sitting at 8% of funding. As the government insist on cutting more social services, schools are being used as a substitute. If the government can afford to give £9 billion worth of tax cuts for the highest earners, they can surely afford to pay for the future of the country. Those missing out on education now are our future doctors, police officers and politicians; minimising their education now will only lead to issues further down the line.
To counter the losses, many schools are running fundraising schemes. My local primary school's teacher, Mr Wilkinson, is running the London Marathon to secure funds for their play therapist, who plays an integral part of their support staff. If you would like to support him, please visit: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/james-wilkinson.
To see how your local area is affected, visit: schoolcuts.org.uk/
So proud! A fantastic article❤️
ReplyDeleteThank you very much!
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