Dominic Coughlin, Secretary of the Isle of Wight County Teachers’ Association shares this latest news. Ed
Schools on the Isle of Wight will be £5,483,398 worse off by 2019/20 than they were in 2015/16.
The updated School Cuts Website shows that the Government’s funding policy for schools will result in funding cuts for all Island schools.
Five worse-affected schools on the Isle of Wight
| School | Cut per pupil |
|---|---|
| Wroxall Primary School | £862 |
| Yarmouth Church of England Aided Primary School | £842 |
| Oakfield Church of England Aided Primary School, Ryde | £662 |
| Lanesend Primary School | £643 |
| St Helen's Primary School | £642 |
The Website, published by the NUT and other Teacher Unions, compares each school’s funding in 2015-16 with the funding the Government predicts it will receive in 2019-20 under its proposed new National Funding Formula (NFF), adjusted for the impact of inflation and cost increases imposed on schools.
School budgets have not been protected
Despite reassurances in the Conservative party election manifesto that school budgets would be protected, this is clearly not the case.
The NFF will simply redistribute existing money across the country, while the Government’s funding freeze and inflation and employer cost increases will cut the value of every school’s funding by almost 10 per cent.
98% of schools worse off in 2019-20
The NUT estimates that this combination of a new funding formula and cost increases means that 98% of schools will be worse off in 2019-20.
The National Audit Office has warned that schools will need to save £3 billion by the end of this Parliament and that they are ill equipped to do this. The latest DfE figures show that 60% of secondary schools are already in deficit.
No winners under government funding policies
Isle of Wight NUT Divisional Secretary, Dr. Dominic Coughlin, said,
“Under this Government’s funding policies, there are no winners, only losers. Isle of Wight schools are being forced to make decisions that no head-teacher or governing body should have to make including reducing the number of school staff and teachers, increasing class sizes, and reducing the range of subjects offered simply to balance the books.
“This is an unacceptable state of affairs and the NUT and ATL will continue campaigning for additional funding to protect schools and our children’s education.”
