Special needs teachers facing the axe
SPECIAL needs teachers in Halton could face redundancies due to a £2.1 million funding gap in the Higher Needs budget.
At a Schools Forum meeting in Runcorn on Wednesday, representatives from special needs schools appeared visibly upset when discussing how to manage the shortfall between the grant allocated by the Department For Education and the amount Halton would need to support children with higher needs.
Members of the forum reluctantly agreed to align their funding back to level they agreed in 2016-2017 – a reduction of £510 per pupil for 2018-2019.
However, in doing so, they said they could not rule out cuts to staff as a way of saving money – despite demand for high needs support increasing year on year.
The High Needs budget is targeted at pupils with disabilities, behavioural problems or ill health.
Nationally, there has been a significant increase in demand for support for these pupils.
Department For Education data shows that the number of pupils attending a specialist setting has increased from 5.6% in 2012 to 8.5% in 2016. ●
In December 2017, a TES investigation revealed that over the past four years, the funding shortfall for children with higher needs has more than tripled since 2014-15, when it amounted to around £70m.
In Halton, demand has continued to outstrip the resources available, with the high needs budget continuing to overspend in 2017-2018.
Teaching unions have warned the high-needs system is in ‘cri- sis’, and headteachers say there is a ‘perfect storm’ of insufficient funding and rising demand.
Sara Ainsworth, headteacher of Brookfields School in Widnes said: “As schools we are facing extremely challenging times in setting budgets and maintaining those crucial things that allow us to best meet pupil need and minimise the negative impact of the funding cuts.
“At this point in time we do not know the full extent of this impact but we will continue to work collaboratively with each other and the local authority to ensure that the best possible provision can be maintained for the children that we serve within the financial constraints placed upon us, and our children will remain central in all decisions.”
At Wednesday’s forum, several school representatives commented that they faced a more difficult year than ever before in regards to school budgets, due long-term underfunding and increased demand.
Cllr Tom McInerney, lead member for children, young people and families, said: “We are very fortunate in Halton to have four exceptional special schools with dedicated staff who work tirelessly to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
“Unfortunately the growing funding gap between what we receive from the Department For Education and what we require to support our children and young people means that we have had to review and reduce the funding levels of our special schools for 2018-2019.
“We will continue to work in partnership with our four special schools during 2018-2019 to mitigate the impact of these reductions on staffing and revise our funding formula for future years.”