Holly Lynch MP: We must do so much more to support schools

In Parliament I shared the results of Calderdale Against School Cuts anonymous survey of all Calderdale primary headteachers.

The survey revealed that half had made reductions to teaching staff and 84 per cent had not replaced staff who had left. Some 73 per cent had reduced support staff and 47 per cent were planning to make staff redundant to balance the books. Eighty per cent of schools had been forced to cut back on maintenance and repairs. Perhaps most worryingly, 100 per cent anticipated that their school would soon struggle to cope, with concerns about balancing the school budget for the next three years.

When interviewed by a national newspaper, Mungo Sheppard, the truly outstanding head at Ash Green in Mixenden said: “Heads are forced to balance the books rather than saying ‘How many staff do we actually need for our children?’ It’s terrifying.” He said that many no longer have enough classroom support staff “to cater for the ever-growing needs of children”. Despite being over-subscribed, his school will have a “large” deficit by April next year and “other local schools are already in perilous situations, running out of money.”

There has been what can only be described as an explosion in the numbers of children with emotional, behavioural or mental health difficulties, and schools are especially struggling with resources, funding and specialist support for those children. Calderdale Council has a predicted £5.9 million overspend on high-needs children. It also reports a 150 per cent increase in the number of children with education, health and care plans since covid. When a school has a child with additional needs recognised by an EHCP, it has to find from its existing budget the first £6,000 to provide support for that child. In reality, the only way that is achievable is by diverting money away from the day-to-day provision of teaching and learning.

The Labour leadership of Calderdale Council have worked their socks off to balance its budget, but it was a struggle both financially and morally to do so. In the last financial quarter, the Council’s budget for children and young people had a £7.8 million overspend, which has increased by £1.7 million this financial year. The biggest driver of that overspend is the rising number of required placements for children in care, with the costs rising significantly. The lack of placement availability nationally and locally is a key factor, as it is everywhere. There was nothing in the Conservative Budget for councils, which have limited means of providing any additional support to schools.

Schools are increasingly picking up the pieces of our broken society. Labour is committed to funding breakfast clubs, additional teachers, and mental health specialists in schools – pledges that we know are necessary and we are proud of. Schools and councils are desperately trying to undertake their statutory duties to educate children and keep them safe, but they are fighting on too many fronts. We must do so much more to support them.