A B&NES wide campaign is now in force to tackle budget cuts to the region’s schools.
Parents and carers in Bath and North East Somerset will have received a letter recently from their child’s school regarding the funding crisis for schools in B&NES.
The letter says that although parents and carers may be aware of funding because of national and local media, this funding crisis is now directly affecting schools iN Bath and North East Somerset. Schools in the region are now experiencing unprecedented cuts to school budgets, between 2013/14 and 2018/19 spending per child is down in real terms by -8.8% in the Bath constituency and -6.7% in North East Somerset, this is despite pupil numbers rising.
The open letter which is signed by head teachers and chief executive officers of a number of schools, both primary and secondary, in the area, says: “Our priority is to provide your children with the best education we can and we are working hard with our teams to cope. But we are reaching breaking point and we are now being forved to take really tough decisions.”
The steps being taken to try and combat the funding crisis varies from school to school, but all of them are reporting difficulties because of bigger class sizes, there being fewer teaching assistants and support staff, an inadequate support for children, inability to meet the needs of those with SEND and a complete lack of funding for equipment, training and activities.
The letter continued: “As head teachers and chief executive officers, we have been cautious about communicating directly with you about the challenges we face, we cannot be seen to be political and its difficult to highlight individual challenges when our schools’ future depends on attracting new pupils. But we feel the situation is now so dire, we need to find a way to make politicians listen and we are asking for your help.”
Parents and carers are being encouraged to led the B&NES-wide campaign with support from head teachers and chief executive officers. You can get involved by joining together with parents, pupils, school staff and head teachers on Saturday, 8th June at a ‘Protest Picnic’ on the Royal Crescent to highlight the support of schools in the B&NES area and to bring attention to the funding crisis. Attendees are to meet in Queens Square, Bath, at midday and then march to the Royal Crescent.
An online petition and action group have also been set up. You can sign the petition at: http://chng.it/qG5dqrXn5D and get find out more about the action group here: www.ffas-banes.co.uk.
