How can this be sustainable long term? Oh wait... it can't. Teaching was already in crisis, with larger class sizes than ever, over worked and underpaid staff, not to mention the lack of resources that teachers face. And now, to make matters worse, potential redundancies due to shortage of budgets. How is it even possible to consider that schools will run on fewer staff? According to the most recent figures, one in eight LA maintained schools were in a deficit in 2022-23. One in eight! Just let that sink in. The impact; either cutting staff numbers or simply not replacing staff that leave. So what is the impact going to be? Well, presumably, more stressed staff, more staff leaving, impact on delivery of teaching and impact on the wellbeing of the children. This list is not exhaustive. The DfE's response; 'funding will rise by a further £1.8 billion next year...' and 'We have record numbers of teachers in our schools'. This is just frustrating, as always, there is no actual response that will deal with the issue. Let's just brush it under the carpet and hope that it goes away. Keep piling the pressure on already stressed teachers; but hey, that will surely free up some vacancies and the budget at the same time, right? Do you think the government are taking this issue and the warnings seriously enough, and are they waiting for the next, perhaps, incoming government to clean up the mess. Or do you think this is all an over-exaggeration and everything will actually work out? Have your say in the comments or the Forum.
Photograph: Julian Claxton/Alamy
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