Head teacher calls for more school funding
A CALDERDALE head teacher has lifted the lid on increased budgetary costs and the added stresses and strains faced by schools during the coronavirus crisis.
The Government has failed to take into account variable infection rates when planning education budgets, head teachers across the region have said.
Extra support is needed to help schools in the region who face increased budgetary costs - from having to “backfill teaching staff,” to extra unforeseen cleaning bills.
Judy Shaw, the coheadteacher for Tuel Lane Infant School, Sowerby Bridge, and former president of the National Association of Head Teachers, has called for more support for rural schools across the region and their wider community, who have faced “significant” challenges.
Ms Shaw, who has been head for 15 years at the primary school which caters for 110 pupils, has called for extra funding and support to ‘small schools’ after reporting last week 11 of her team of 25 staff were having to isolate, with 30 children also off.
She said: “The pressure on all schools is immense at the moment but it’s particularly heightened in small schools where just one positive test can mean staff, resources and funding become scarce really quickly.
The Calderdale based head also revealed she had to cover three other roles, alongside her leadership role, including collecting and serving school dinners and washing up after, supported admin tasks and providing support for a child with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).