April 25, 2017 8.32 am This story is over 82 months old

Lincolnshire schools to be £45 million worse off by end of decade, teachers’ union warns

Schools in Lincolnshire face losing up to £45 million from their budgets in two years’ time, with a teachers’ union describing the government’s proposals as disastrous. The National Union of Teachers has claimed that over 1,200 teachers will be made redundant as a result of the Department of Education’s proposed changes, which could lead to…

Schools in Lincolnshire face losing up to £45 million from their budgets in two years’ time, with a teachers’ union describing the government’s proposals as disastrous.

The National Union of Teachers has claimed that over 1,200 teachers will be made redundant as a result of the Department of Education’s proposed changes, which could lead to a loss of funding of £504 per pupil.

Ken Rustidge, Lincolnshire NUT Divisional Secretary and National Executive member, has criticised the proposals describing them as “very worrying”, and highlighting fears about a drop in the standard of education in the county.

Lincolnshire County Council has also raised concerns about the plans, stressing that no school should see a reduction in its budget.

Debbie Barnes, director of Children’s Services at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “For some years now, we’ve been campaigning for a fairer deal for Lincolnshire schools and we’ve responded robustly to the government’s consultation on the national formula.

“Under the proposed plans, some schools would see a drop in funding and whilst we welcome the increase for some schools, we do not think that any school in Lincolnshire should see a budget reduction as we are already one of the worse funded Local Authority areas for school funding.

“We need to ensure that all our schools have a core budget to deliver full-time, high quality education in appropriate class sizes.

“I’m deeply concerned that the current proposals will not enable our schools to do this and leave some in a vulnerable position.

“The plans are still based on historic calculations and do not reflect the unique challenges we face with our schools in a large rural authority.

“I hope the government will listen to our concerns and look again at the formula.”