'Championing the rights of children'

Comprehensive Spending Review (October 2010) - FLSE Response

Initial thoughts on the coalition government's Comprehensive Spending Review (October 2010) in respect of schools.

Impact on schools of the education budget overall falling by about 3.4%

Introduction

  1. £81 billion pound reduction in public spending by 2014-15
  2. Formula funding grants for councils falling by 29% in real terms
  3. Schools funding rising slightly but needs to accommodate pupil premium,rising pupil numbers, reduction in 16-19 unit costs, reduction in adult learning and redistribution of specialist monies
  4. Council Tax is frozen but government will add 2.5% in first year
  5. £1 billion nationally in health budget for social care
  6. Fewer supporting agencies
  7. Increased costs through carbon taxes
  8. Unknown implications of Job Evaluation and moves towards national assistant pay scales
  9. Possible reduction of 40% in anticipated capital spend (BSF)
  10. An additional 4% on the pay bill by 2013/14 because of increased employers’ contributions

Staff morale is likely to be mostly adversely affected

  • Staff may be relieved that schools’ budgets are protected and therefore buoyant.  
  • They may though be concerned that schools need to find a 1% efficiency saving and that work previously undertaken by LAs might now fall on schools as the centre shrinks by about 29% over the next four years. 
  • They might also feel guilty as they are bound to know people who may lose their jobs in other areas of public service.  
  • They will be unhappy and perhaps anxious at frozen pay increases; inflation; the changes to welfare; the expected 2-3% rise in pension contributions; the reduction in annual pension pay outs as a result of the annual rise being linked to the Consumer Price Index rather than the Retail Price Index; and the raising of the retirement age meaning the loss of a year’s state pension.

Recruitment

  • The lack of mobility due to lack of relocation monies, trying to find a job simultaneously for a partner, housing finance issues and frozen salaries is already a problem.  This is especially true in special education where the numbers of schools are relatively few and could make the present 43% re- advertisement rate for headteachers’ posts and 28% for deputy’s rise.  There will be similar mobility effects at all levels, restricting the pool of candidates. 
  • Conversely there will be greater choice for heads but a manageability issue. The shrinking public sector will see a vast increase in applications for support staff roles which, in special schools, may result in the interviewing of vast numbers for the lowest paid jobs (and therefore the fewest qualifications required) to avoid equal opportunity problems.

School budgets

  • Fall in real terms whilst children become more complex.
  • Those reliant on several specialist streams of income may be adversely affected by either or both of: these monies being frozen and therefore withering (mitigated by frozen salaries) and the monies being redistributed across all secondary and secondary special schools.
  • Replacing functions currently undertaken by LAs as they reduce their operations by 29%.
  • Continuing to replace functions previously 8nderatken by the health service.

School organisation

  • Since all schools spend 85% or more on staffing then the financial squeeze on LAs, schools and other agencies; the growing complexity of children and increased accountability of institutions will require new ways of working. 
  • Residential schools may have particular funding issues and require new partners. 
  • New ways of working may offer economies of scale and commissioning opportunities, generating collective CPD and school improvement and sharing staff in shortage areas.  New organisations may then become miniature LAs, commissioned by the council to execute their legal duties.  A this point, assuming LAs lose the critical mass as a result of a 28% cut and some schools leaving LA control with their ‘share’ of the central Dedicated Schools Grant, then others may have to follow.  The alternative would be a school or set of schools that cannot perform its inward and outward roles i.e. they may be reliant of the share of up to 15% retained LA monies.
  • Set within the larger context of equalities legislation, recruitment, sustainability, improvement and so forth, schools may well need official partnerships with those in wellbeing, enterprise, leadership and learning. This also implies a change of legal status and of organisation.

 

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