Headteachers warn of Labour’s austerity 2.0 as schools face ‘death by a thousand cuts’

Headteachers have intervened after a report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) warned that funding for primary and secondary schools is facing a 0.8% cut under the Labour Party government. And that’s before you account for the 5% cut to each government department that chancellor Rachel Reeves quietly announced before Christmas, branded as “efficiency savings”.

The 0.8% reduction is because of a promised increase in teachers’ salaries. But providing more income for undervalued teachers shouldn’t come at the price of cutting resources for schools, as well as increasing class sizes and reducing the curriculum.

Overall, the education budget already faced a 9% cut from 2010-2020. This was drastic for school sixth forms that underwent cuts of 26%. The lack of funding forced 47 school sixth forms to close from 2016-2019. Funding for colleges, meanwhile, will still be 11% lower than in 2010.

“Relentless financial pressures”

Julie McCulloch, director of policy as the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said:

This report reveals the reality that is facing many schools and colleges – yet another round of cutbacks. It will inevitably mean further reductions to pastoral support, curriculum options and classroom resources. It is also likely that in many cases class sizes will increase.

Schools and colleges have been expected to absorb relentless financial pressures over the past 15 years, and they have done an incredible job in minimising the impact on students. But we cannot go on like this. It is death by a thousand cuts. The government must recognise the importance of improved investment in education.

When it comes to a share of GDP, education spending has also fallen from around 5.6% of national income in 2010 to about 4.1% in 2023-24.

Schools funding plan: “an insult”

The National Education Union (NEU) is also not happy with Labour’s proposed pay increase. The government already issued a 5.5% pay increase for teachers for the 2024-25 academic year. But, according to the NEU, teachers pay in real terms remains 20% lower than in 2010.

NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said:

The current proposal of 2.8 per cent is not sufficient to even start to address the crisis in recruitment and retention. The suggestion that an unfunded pay award can be paid for by making ‘efficiencies’ is an insult to a profession who have already endured 14 years of austerity. Thousands of teachers voted for the change that Labour promised for education. They promised to invest in education, to recruit 6,500 teachers and to value education and to secure the life chances of our children.

Headteachers ‘unblocking toilets’

The austerity has gotten so bad that headteachers are taking on additional roles. Amanda Richards, the headteacher of Sytchampton primary in Worcestershire, said in April 2024 that her school “literally can’t afford” a permanent caretaker.

Richards told the Guardian:

I’m 53 this year; I’m not built for lifting and shifting, to be honest with you. But there isn’t anyone else to do it.

Just before half-term, the toilets in our new building were blocked. So when that happens during the day, it’s me who puts the marigolds on and goes down to the toilets with the plunger and tries to unblock it as best as I can. That’s a fairly regular occurrence.

With regard to things like DIY or maintenance for the building, we don’t have anyone to do that. So we either do it ourselves, or we save up bigger jobs for someone to come in and do, because we just couldn’t afford somebody to be on hand regularly as a member of staff.

A survey has further found that one in six schools in England can no longer afford to employ a caretaker.

Featured image via the Canary