Schools in crisis need better funding

Councillor Carrie Harper, Plaid Cymru

Calls have been made to boost funding for schools in Wrexham after it became apparent many are facing a financial crisis.

Four in 10 schools have requested a licensed deficit from Wrexham Council because they're unable to fund essential costs on an annual basis. with many having to make staff redundant to balance the books. 

Most have been managed through voluntary redundancy and end of fixed-term contracts but overall, the county's schools are losing 26 Teaching Assistants and 23 teachers. Six of these are through compulsory redundancy.

The chair of Wrexham Council's Lifelong Learning scrutiny committee Councillor Carrie Harper, of Plaid Cymru, said:

"The bottom line we're hearing from officers and head teachers is that there just isn't enough money in the system. Many have said they've never seen such a severe situation in their entire careers.

"Teaching unions such as the National Association of Head Teachers have been clear that the current issues stem from a reduction in funding from the UK Government to Wales. Real terms funding for schools has fallen by 6% since 2010 and schools are facing massive inflationary pressures.

"This means that our schools are facing a perfect storm of budget cuts, inflationary pressures, combined with increased pressure in terms of more challenging pupil behaviour post Covid. With lengthy waiting lists in CAMHS, school staff are often having to deal with more complex issues that aren't being addressed by the Health Board.

"The pressure on school staff and governing bodies is immense, many are between a rock and a hard place trying to balance their budgets and ensuring safe staffing levels. There is also a lot of anxiety about what comes next - falling pupil numbers and potential future cuts are adding to the strain.

"The current situation is not sustainable, our education system across Wales is in crisis. Schools have no alternative means of raising the kind of funds we're talking about here. We need the UK Government to increase funding urgently and to ensure that any uplift passported to the Welsh Government is ringfenced for education."