‘False impression’ of school funding given by Thame’s MP, says Headteacher

THE Headteacher of Lord Williams’s School in Thame, David Wybron, has accused Thame’s MP John Howell, of giving a false impression of the financial situation in our schools.

John Howell canvassing in Thame

In response to an article published in John Howell’s name in a local paper, on September 29, MP Welcomes new funding for schools, Mr Wybron sent the following response to the paper, a response which to date has not been published:

“It may seem surprising for parents/carers to read John Howell’s article in the Thame Gazette last week, appearing as it did, less than a week after the launch of our School Fund Appeal. I am concerned that a false impression was given of the actual state of school funding.

“Whilst an increase in funding is welcome it falls well short of the amount we need to cover our present and future running costs. A 3.4% increase in 2018/2019 does not cover the 8% real terms cut in funding by 2019. The actual picture is as follows:

• Per pupil funding has not increased since 2012.
  Since 2009 we have had to deal with a 17% reduction in our Sixth Form funding. That is approximately £250,000 (when government sources speak of “The Schools’ Budget” this does not include Sixth Form funding).
• The money transferred from the Local Authority to this academy, to run services hitherto run by the Local Authority, has been removed completely since September 2017.
• From April 2016 the school’s National Insurance contributions increased by 33% from 10.4% to 13.8%, adding approximately £150,000 to our staffing costs.
• Teachers’ pension costs are expected to rise in 2019, potentially adding £135,000 to staffing costs.
• The ending of the pay cap for public sector workers is likely to make the funding situation worse by 2018/19. For example, a 1% salary increase for staff in 2018/19 would add approximately £100,000 to our costs.

‘Be more transparent’

“Whilst we soldier on,” continued Mr Wybron,  “I would urge our politicians to be more transparent about what the ac

tual situation is like. Cuts in funding affect all aspects of our work. An example of this is the situation regarding access to specialist provision for some of our most vulnerable students. There is severe underfunding of specialist provision in Oxfordshire and schools throughout the Local Authority, including Lord Williams’s, are having to ‘patch’ up provision themselves, at significant extra cost.

David Wybron

‘Write to your MP’

“I would urge parents/carers and Thame residents to speak up for local schools and to write to local MPs. It makes it very difficult for schools to plan for the future with any confidence. In the case of any pay award next year, it is vital that it is fully funded by government. If it isn’t, then the good news mentioned in John’s article, counts for very little.”

NB Mr Wybron has previously expressed his frustration with education cuts in the local press. See:
Thame Headteacher ‘alarmed’ at education cuts