Budget cuts could lead to bigger class sizes in Shropshire schools
Cuts to school budgets in Shropshire could lead to bigger class sizes and cuts to the curriculum, a teaching union has warned.
Jean Evanson, Shropshire division secretary of the National Education Union, voiced concerns over new figures which showed that real-term spending per pupil in the county had fallen by up to five per cent.
The worst hit local authority was Telford & Wrekin, which saw its funding funding per head cut by five per cent over the past year when adjusted for inflation.
In Shropshire, funding was cut by just over three per cent in real terms.
Mrs Evanson, who works as a chemistry teacher in Shrewsbury, said funding cuts were creating a real headache for headteachers in the county trying to balance their budgets.
"We have seen some smaller rural schools federating to cut costs, with heads dividing their time between schools," she said.
"Teachers fear the impact on their pupils and possible redundancy driven by funding cuts."
Mrs Evanson said some schools had also been forced to reduce the number of teaching assistants in the classroom.
"These are invaluable assets in supporting children’s learning," she said.
See also:
Mrs Evanson said she feared class sizes would continue to increase, and there would be reduced support for children with special educational needs.
She added: "We fear further cuts to non core subjects, narrowing a curriculum with less focus being given to art and music, amongst other subjects."
The figures show that funding per pupil in both the Telford & Wrekin and Shropshire Council areas was below the national average.
In Telford & Wrekin, spending is £4,237 per pupil – down from £4,623 for last year, when adjusted for inflation, while in the rest of Shropshire it was £4,341, down from an inflation-adjusted figure of £4,482 for last year.
This compares to an English average of £4,528, down one per cent from £4,573 last year.
