Melksham schools could be nearly £1million worse off in 2019, says teachers union

SCHOOLS in the Melksham area could be nearly £1million worse off in 2019 according to a national teachers’ union which is calling on the Government to invest more in education.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) is campaigning for better funding for schools and has predicted that schools in the  Melksham area could receive £958,567 less from the Government in 2019 than it did in 2016.

The figure is despite the new national funding formula announced in December. The formula is expected to benefit most  local schools, but NUT says other cuts mean  the schools will still lose money.

Schools’ losses in annual funding in 2019 predicted by the NUT, are: Melksham Oak £395,885 (down £364 per pupil); Aloeric £100,051 (£288); The Manor £62,742 (£261); Bowerhill £129,986 (£350); Shaw £70,106 (£338); Churchfields, Atworth £50,626 (£337); St Mary’s, Broughton Gifford £27,605 (£307); Holt £68,096 (£370); Semington £25,412 (£292); Seend £28,058 (£242).

River Mead was not expected to lose money and there was no estimate for Forest & Sandridge.

The NUT expects that most schools in the Melksham area will have less funding than they do now and that local schools could lose an average of around £314.90 per pupil. Wiltshire Council this year spent a base figure of between £2,900 and £4,700 per pupil.

Stephen Clark, head teacher at Melksham Oak Community School told Melksham News, “The National Audit Office has stated that schools will experience an 8% cut in real terms over the next few years.

“This is due to an increase in pay,  employers pension and National Insurance contributions and at the same time schools are seeing a decrease in Special Educational Needs funding and other grants.

“At Melksham Oak and within the Academy Trust of Melksham we  have predicted this and made considerable efficiencies in how we run our schools and at the same time we have protected our students from the impact of these cuts.

“We will continue to work on this basis but if the cuts continue, then we will need to review this. The difficulty is the Government cannot confirm our funding for next year and so long term planning is challenging.”

Stephen Clark said the schools were saving money by, among other measures, changing contracts, not replacing retiring office staff and reducing how much post was sent out.

The teachers’ union’s figures predict that Melksham Oak would be worst hit, with a loss of  £395,885, followed by Bowerhill, which could lose £129,986 and Aloeric with £100,051.

The amounts are predicted by calculating the impact of the cash freeze on per pupil income, a proposed cut to the Education Services Grant and the proposed National Funding Formula.

Head at Bowerhill, Andrew Matthews said, “The new funding formula is a good thing overall and the Government should be commended for the new direction, but inflation might affect any benefits schools would have seen from it. When budgets tighten schools have to look at what staff they can afford – that’s where most of the money is spent. A lot of the pupil premium is spent on buying extra teachers and if we can’t afford that then class sizes will get bigger.”

Kevin Courtney, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers said, “No headteacher should be put in the position of increasing class sizes, leaving building repairs undone or cutting staff and resources simply to balance the books. Nor should any parent accept this for their child. We are one of the richest countries in the world. We can and we should be funding our schools properly.”

Find out more about the campaign and how the figures are calculated at www.schoolcuts.org.uk