Teaching jobs at risk in fresh cuts – warning

More than 30 teaching jobs are at risk in Swansea and Newport under council cuts. Swansea Council confirmed 27 fulltime equivalent posts, filled by 31 teachers, are at risk, while the National Education Union Cymru (NEU) said at least 12 full-time equivalent posts are under threat in Newport – all because of cuts to ethnic minority achievement funding.

NEU Cymru accused the councils of pursuing redundancies despite apparent funding being made available by Welsh Government to avoid the need to do so.

“Teaching roles are under threat in Newport and Swansea, with Newport Council stating they face a £630,000 funding shortfall due to cuts to the Minority and Ethnic Achievement Grant (MEAG),” the union said in a statement.

“However, the Cabinet Secretary for Education has confirmed that an additional £2.5m in funding had been made available between Cardiff, Newport, Swansea and Wrexham to develop the regional approach, with confirmation also that Newport would secure £1.1m in transitional funding to support minority ethnic achievement and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller learners.”

NEU Cymru Wales secretary David Evans said: “Between what Newport and Swansea are saying and what the Welsh Government are saying, something clearly doesn’t add up.

“Our members are being told that there will be a number of redundancies as a result of shortfalls at council level due to cuts to the MEAG.

“At the same time the Welsh Government has stated they have provided both transition funding, as well as further money for the four urban authorities including Newport and Swansea.

“These redundancies should be taken off the table, with the roles guaranteed under the funding that the Welsh Government has outlined is available. If Newport Council continue to state that they face a funding shortfall, then they need to give a detailed explanation of where else the Welsh Government’s funding commitments have been used.”

A Swansea Council spokesman confirmed 31 posts are under threat there, but said no redundancy notices have yet been issued.

He added: “This is not a situation of our making. The initial budget settlement from Cardiff Bay did not include any money at all for the service and it was only after representations by Swansea Council and other local authorities that the Welsh Government said some funding would be made available for this year, but the picture after that is very unclear.

“We have set aside money from our reserves this year to help support the service through this period of uncertainty.”

A Newport Council spokeswoman said: “The service is primarily staffed by teachers and teaching assistants who provide support to pupils within mainstream settings... Early indications were that there would be a considerable shortfall in funding across the region for 201819, therefore prompting consultation over a potential restructure.

“However, we are hopeful that recent discussions with Welsh Government will result in a positive outcome and that the shortfall will be reduced. When we receive formal confirmation of the funding available, we will be able to clarify the overall budget and seek to limit the impact on this important service.”

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “These are challenging times but quite simply the available funding is in the system and it is up to local authorities on how they choose to spend this funding.”