Session 17 – Reported school budget cuts: 20%. Average percentage primary school budgets are salaries: 83% with some over 90%. What, if anything will change?

Session Title

Reported school budget cuts: 20%. Average percentage primary school budgets are salaries: 83% with some over 90%. What, if anything will change?

Summary of Session

Liam Byrne, the former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, last week wrote a
letter for his successor – the Liberal Democrat David Laws – stating: “I’m
afraid to tell you there’s no money left.” The Times, May 17, 2010.

Times are tough, every day it seems like there is another announcement that another budget has been cut. Add to this the threat of up to 40% budget cuts in government departmental spending and the next couple of years we are going to have to watch the pennies!

I don’t believe the education budget will get cuts in this order of magnitude, but even if it is 10%, 5% even, it will make schools think about what they spend. Especially considering that the average % spend on salary out of a schools budget is between 85% and 90%.

What, if anything will your school cut to make ends meet? Will PPA stay? Do you think it will make your school think about becoming an academy? Do you think it will be as bad as I have gloomily predicted?!

Eye-Catching Tweets from the Session

scottjacques01: Traditional CPD, such as going on courses, is usually one of the first casualties of tight budgets #ukedchat

DianneSpencer: #ukedchat I suspect for the next 2 yrs much of the budget cuts will be aimed at LA costs, resulting in loss of services to schools.

chrismayoh: Would largely agree to be fair > RT @colport: Learning Platforms seem to be an easy budget cut within schools / Local Authorities #ukedchat

mister_jim: controvertial for a ICT leader but I think I would rather have an extra teacher in any subject than extra projectors… #ukedchat

primarypete_: Really interesting #ukedchat so far. Diff schools will prioritise diff. Ppa gone and assoc staff then TA’s is my guess.Not my opinion though

Jamesashton20: I’ve been in a school recently where they dont have PPA because the start half hour later and finish half hour earlier everyday! #ukedchat

DianneSpencer: @chrisrat #ukedchat so how do you square 50+ hours of management time required each week with an additional 23 hrs teaching in class?

DianneSpencer: @chrisrat #ukedchat what paperwork needs cutting? risk assessments fmsis, health/ safety audit, annual audit,workforce census, peeps, lots!

SusanElkinJourn: @chrisrat @DianneSpencer Perhaps the paperwork has expanded to occupy the postholders. Variation on Parkinson’s law? #ukedchat

Joga5: @bevevans22 It is something like £20 million a year spent by teachers for their own classes #ukedchat

Tweet of the Week

SusanElkinJourn: #ukedchat No school is an island. Not healthy to pretend otherwise. Interschool collaboration vital for pupil learning, efficiency & CPD

Useful Links highlighted during the session:

www.teachers.tv/videos/roll-over-leases
https://www.nationmaster.com/graph/edu_edu_spe-education-spending-of-gdp
https://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/localgov/nationalstudies/Pages/valuablelessons_copy.aspx
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/spending-review/8035164/Spending-Review-what-it-means-for-the-Department-of-Education.html
https://www.theheadsoffice.co.uk/to-cut-or-not-to-cut-that-is-the-question/
https://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/oct/15/teachers-tv-ten-alps-itn

About the Guest Moderator:

I am the Sales Director for Scholastic Education based in Witney, Oxfordshire. I ensure that our Education Sales Consultants speak with as many teachers and advise on the best resources to fit the needs of the school as they can. I aim to ensure that we provide the best possible resources, at the best possible price to the school – hopefully saving the school money!

In addition to that, I do a few other things, too long to mention here! I blog at www.chrisrat.com, generally about anything that comes to mind, but the odd bit of education (learning logs, school councils etc) creep in!