Proposals on school funding: ‘A carefully laid trap baited with false claims’ says the NASUWT
Commenting on reports of proposed changes to the way school funding is allocated in England, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union, said:
“If anymore evidence was needed that this Coalition Government is on a mission of massive centralisation of power, these proposals provide it.
“The Coalition Government has an irrational contempt for local authorities which is equalled only by its contempt for public services.
“Once the funding link with local authorities is cut, every school will be cast adrift, at the mercy of a Government quango.
“This national, unelected quango will distribute money without the slightest interest in the needs of individual schools or their local communities.
“Claims that this will give schools more autonomy over their budgets are nonsense, and the Secretary of State knows this.
“Once again the public is being misled by a distortion of the truth.
“Local authorities have no choice but to devolve the majority of funding to schools. Any funding held by the local authority is spent on essential and specialist services on which many schools and parents rely.
“If the proposals really were about value for public money and fair funding, the Secretary of State would be ending the lunacy of over 20,000 schools each being individual spending units. Instead he is embedding and extending it.
“This is the next step on the road to creating a free market free for all in the state education system, which is the clear intention of this Coalition Government.
“Anyone welcoming this announcement is walking into a carefully laid trap, baited with false claims of more money and more autonomy for schools.
“Those who genuinely care about providing high quality education for every child will reject these proposals.”
