NAHT seeks answers over fate of extra Welsh education funding

Members of school leaders’ union NAHT fear additional funding received by the Welsh Government for education is not being spent on schools or even anything related to education.

This so-called “consequential” money is triggered under the Barnett Formula by additional spending on education by the UK government, such as that announced in last autumn’s budget.

However, NAHT Cymru has been unable to ascertain what if any extra funding the Welsh Government received following that budget is going to schools, despite lodging Freedom of Information requests with officials in Wales and England.

At the same time, many school leaders in Wales are struggling to set budgets without making unpalatable cuts, including to staff. A survey NAHT Cymru carried out with its members revealed more than half (53%) were predicting a budget deficit at their schools this academic year.

Dean Taylor, head teacher at Pentrepoeth Primary School in Bassaleg near Newport, will urge fellow union members at NAHT’s annual conference in Harrogate on Friday (2 May) afternoon, to agree to a motion designed to ensure there is equity in education funding between England and Wales.

It says: “Education consequential funding should be ring-fenced for spending on education at Welsh Government and at local authority level, ensuring that children and young people in Wales are not short-changed.”

The motion calls on the union’s national executive to “use its bargaining and lobbying strength to ensure that all consequential funding received by Welsh Government as a result of additional education funding in England, is likewise spent on education in Wales, and that the distribution of said funds is on a transparent and equitable basis across Wales”.

Another motion, proposed by Kerina Hanson, NAHT Cymru’s vice president, and head teacher at Pennard Primary School near Swansea, details how the union’s Swansea branch is urging its national executive to campaign for the reintroduction of the Small and Rural Schools Grant by the Welsh Government.

The motion said: “Small and rural schools are an integral part of the education system in Wales. For many communities across the nation, the school is the heart of that town and village. The Welsh Government has a Community Schools Initiative to support such schools, but this sits at odds with the reality that small and rural schools are not fairly funded and valued.”

It says restoring the grant would help ensure the value of small schools is recognised when it comes to discussions around school reorganisation and that the educational experience of learners is valued above all else.

The final motion, proposed by NAHT Cymru president Dafydd Jones, head teacher at Ysgol Melyd in Prestatyn, would compel the union’s national executive to lobby the Welsh Government to make good on its commitment to implementing the 26 recommendations of the Independent Welsh Pay Review Body last year.

It says just seven have been brought forward in the latest pay policy, with a failure to action protected leave for school leaders or pay additional learning needs coordinators (ALNCOs) on the leadership scale and guarantee them non-contact time. 

Laura Doel, NAHT Cymru’s national secretary, said: “At a time when schools are contemplating deficit budgets, cutting pupil spending, and making staff redundant, they deserve answers from the Welsh Government about the destination of this extra funding.

“Without this transparency, there will inevitably be suspicions that this money is not finding its way to schools. If that is the case, it will be even harder for schools to provide the education children deserve.”