SCHOOLS FOOT £216M BILL TO KEEP OUR KIDS SAFE
Cash-strapped heads must find extra cash to get children back in class
HEADS will have to find the £216million cost of making schools safe for pupils to return this week.
And staff warn they may have to raid teaching funds to pay the bill. One union boss said: “The Government should cover these costs.”
HEADTEACHERS fear they will have to use cash meant for education to cover the cost of making schools safe for pupils, after they were left to pay the bill.
Staff who have worked through the summer to prepare for millions of kids coming back today and tomorrow are furious the Government is not picking up the £216million tab spent on cleaning, sanitiser, signs, disinfectant wipes, PPE kit and perspex screens.
After a decade of Tory austerity, England’s 21,622 schools have been left strapped for cash but they have spent an average £10,000 each and warn they may now have to use educational budgets to balance books.
There are concerns costs will go up as they restock supplies, bring in staff to cover those who need to self-isolate, or if there is another lockdown.
National Association of Headteachers general secretary Paul Whiteman said: “Every pound spent on cleaning materials is a pound that cannot be spent on education.
“School leaders and their teams have stuck to their task, calmly and professionally and parents can have confidence that schools will be ready.
“Our research shows that 96% of schools are organising regular additional cleaning of classrooms and school premises. The Government has mandated certain safety measures, and parents and schools alike would rightly expect the Government to meet these costs.”
Association of School and College Leaders general secretary Geoff Barton added: “The Government has said schools should use their existing resources to make arrangements to welcome all children back and there are no plans to reimburse additional costs incurred as part of that process. This is a short-sighted decision which will mean school budgets will be put under further strain. The costs associated with reopening in line with the Government’s own guidance are considerable. “The Government should provide funding to cover these costs, so that school budgets can be used for education, rather than funding hygiene measures and plugging gaps in staffing.” One primary school head said: “We are using precious money from our budget to pay for this which would otherwise be spent on the children.
“We spent about £4,000 and were led to believe we would be able to claim this back but we can’t.
“The only claims allowed are as a result of measures for a suspected case of Covid in school. Our costs will continue to rise as we open fully and we don’t know how long we will have to keep this level of cleaning up for.
“We can’t afford to pay the cleaner to come in, especially now we know we can’t claim back any of the costs.”
The latest research by NAHT found three in 10 teachers believed cash constraints would affect their schools’
ability to reopen safely. The majority of pupils will be three months behind in their studies when they return, with boys worst hit. Teachers estimate those in the most disadvantaged areas could be more than four months behind pupils in the wealthiest areas.
A National Foundation for Educational Research study also found the learning gap between the two groups has widened by 46% since the start of the pandemic.
The Government has provided £650m “catch-up” funding to help close the chasm as well as covering some costs related to an outbreak.
But heads are losing an average £15,915 in income from renting out facilities or cancelled fundraising events. The NASUWT union estimates if schools spent as much as 5% of their funding on Covid costs, they would need at least £2.38billion added to this year’s £47.6bn budget.
The Department for Education said: “Heads, teachers and school staff have gone to enormous lengths to ensure children can get back into their classes safely.
“Schools have continued to receive their core funding, with this year marking the first year of a three-year £14.4bn total cash boost. Schools have also been able to claim for specific exceptional costs such as additional cleaning due to confirmed or suspected Covid-19 cases.” Gavin Williamson said yesterday: “I do not underestimate how challenging the last few months have been but I know how important it is for children to be back in school.” But the Education Secretary faces demands to come to the House of Commons today to say how he will protect pupils after a string of delays and U-turns.
Labour leader Keir Starmer will call for a “proper plan” from him, adding: “He needs to explain how he will make up for the damage already done, bring pupils up to speed and mitigate against the ongoing pandemic risk.”
With almost all English schools set to be back by the end of the week, heads have been warned to expect unruly behaviour from some pupils after such a long absence.
The DfE admits many will struggle to adjust to routine and discipline.
A study by Parentkind charity found 26% of parents were not planning to send their child to school at the start of term, while 20% are undecided.
EDUCATION of future generations will be blighted unless cash-strapped schools are compensated for the high costs of protecting pupils and staff from Covid-19.
England’s children return to classrooms today and heads calculate schools face £10,000 average bills, an unbearable burden.
Spending fell per pupil under the Conservatives after 2010 and parents and teachers already buy everything from pens to toilet rolls – and now this.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson should be hammering on Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s door, demanding precious cash. Williamson just isn’t doing this.
After the exam fiascos and his inability to get pupils back into classes before the summer, it is another black mark.
Education is a vital investment in knowledge and prosperity. Teachers could be lost without coronavirus funding for our schools. Another abject Tory failure.