More schools adopt half-day closing on Fridays to save cash
AT least ten Birmingham schools are closing early on a Friday to save money – though the true figure could be much higher.
The city has quietly become a national hotspot for half-day closing as schools battle to balance their books.
Bellfield Junior School in Northfield became the latest to announce its plans to close early, triggering a backlash from some parents concerned about the impact on them and their children, but also generating plenty of support.
There is a growing trend across the city towards early closing as a way to save money on costly extra staff and to safeguard other vital support roles.
Schools are not required to inform education chiefs at Birmingham City Council, nor to notify Ofsted or the Department for Education, so there is no central list available.
But the Birmingham Post has discovered that up to 20 schools are already closed on Friday afternoons, with many more understood to be looking at the emerging evidence and discussing it as a way forward.
Most close at lunchtime while some finish at 2pm. Among those are: Alston Primary, Bordesley Green Wyndliffe Primary, Bordesley Green
Leigh Primary, Washwood Heath Bordesley Village Primary, Bordesley
Osborne Primary, Erdington Sladefield Infants, Ward End
Holy Trinity CE Primary, Handsworth
Ark Kings Academy, Kings Norton Somerville Primary, Small Heath St Bernadette’s Primary, Yardley The issue has sparked intense debate on social media and at the school gates, with some protesting it’s the start of a slippery slope towards part-time schooling, while some nonworking parents says it’s a brilliant opportunity to spend more quality time with children.
Working parents applaud the initiative if childcare is provided.
In response, the Department for Education said: “Since 2017, we have given every local authority more money for every pupil in every school to make funding fairer across the country.
“In Birmingham, schools will receive a 0.7 per cent increase per pupil in 2019-20, compared to their 2017-18 baseline.
“This increase is equivalent to £32.3 million in total, when rising pupil numbers are also taken into account.
“Headteachers are best placed to decide how their school day should be structured, but we would expect that any changes made to this would be done in consultation with parents.
“While there is more money going into our schools than ever before, we do recognise the budgeting challenges schools face and that we are asking them to do more.
“That’s why we’re supporting schools and head teachers, and their local authorities, to make the most of every pound.”
Nationally, schools are increasingly adopting Friday closing as a way forward. Schools in parts of Scotland have been closing early on Fridays for several years.