Islington Headteachers’ Public Statement
A public statement by Headteachers in the London Borough of Islington.
For many years, head teachers, school staff, governors and the education authority have worked tirelessly together to create high-quality provision across the borough which has resulted in excellent outcomes for children in Islington.
An example of this is that in the last decade, the increase in the proportion of children reaching the expected standard for the core subjects at KS2 means that Islington (which is currently the 2nd most deprived borough in the country*) has gone from being 122nd out of 150 Local Authorities to currently being 39th, which puts Islington in the 29th percentile.
We are writing to express our deep concerns that continued inadequate funding of schools will mean that we will not be able to sustain these successes. Instead, we strongly believe that these cuts will result in poorer outcomes for our children, and the same applies for schools across the country.
Unfunded pay-rises, increased pensions and National Insurance contributions have already placed a significant strain on school budgets which have resulted in ‘educational efficiencies’ being made in schools across the country.
The National Audit Office believes that without additional funding, the Islington family of schools will be forced to make cuts equivalent to approximately £15million by 2019/ 2020. That is a reduction of £711 per pupil and a loss of 400 teachers across our Islington schools alone.
This will put our children’s education at risk. We need investment, not further cuts.
What the Government states:
1. The National Funding Formula will make the system fairer.
2. That schools’ funding is now at a record level – more than £40bn this year
3. There is significant scope for schools to make further efficiencies (£3 billion by 2020)
What Headteachers state:
1) The National Funding Formula will simply distribute inadequate funding in a different way
2) School funding is insufficient – there are more pupils than ever before and schools across Islington have already made substantial cuts to provision
3) There is no more scope for efficiencies without this having a significant and detrimental impact on children’s outcomes.
What will continued underfunding and further cuts mean for your children?
Lower standards and not achieving their full potential
Less additional support for children who need it
Fewer opportunities for children to be involved in enrichment activities (trips, extended schools, extra-curricular, therapeutic support for children’s wellbeing and mental health, etc.)
Fewer resources
Less choice in school subjects
Larger class sizes