A radical solution, not rhetoric needed

Welsh politicians need one radical solution – not rhetoric- to save schools from post election meltdown, warn headteachers.

The Tories came under attack for allowing state schools “to run down” and for sending their children to private schools by the Welsh Labour leader at the party’s spring conference last weekend. Carwyn Jones said his party had a “fight on its hands” as he delivered his first speech as First Minister.

With a recent poll indicating twice as many teachers would vote Conservative now as did in 2005, education has become a key battleground in the race for Downing Street.

With all the pre-election flaunting of England-focussed education pledges, many teachers in Wales could feel uncertain about who to vote for in the looming General Election. There is no doubt though that in Wales too, school funding, and pay – an area not yet devolved – that will form the most potent battle ground.  The First Minister has already won widespread support from teachers with a pledge to bring funding levels up to the English level over time.

Education Minister Leighton Andrews has hired consultants to flush out cash currently being eaten up in bureaucracy with a promise that it will be redirected to schools.

System-wide change 

But with local authority budget cuts already hitting home there is growing discontent where feelings are rawest – on the front line. According to headteachers, Welsh politicians not are coming up with sufficiently radical solutions in their pre-election rhetoric to stop the storm clouds gathering over Welsh schools. Many are now calling for system-wide change.

John Brown, head of Townhill Community School in Swansea has to make three teachers redundant after his city council slashed £4 million from next year’s education budget. Mr Brown sees the huge variations in education funding across Wales as “grossly unfair” – especially for schools like his. In one of the most deprived areas of Wales, his school has 58% free school meal entitlement along with second or third generation looked-after children on the roll.

“After factoring in grant funding cuts as well over the next few years my school’s budget will fall by as much as 20%, he said.

“My teachers already contend with extremely challenging circumstances. There simply has to be  a level playing field in school funding across Wales”.

His solution is for the four regional consortia already in existence – SWAMWAC in his area - to take control locally. Controversially, he is also a fan of federating schools to save money and free up cash for his classrooms – as long the educational case for change matches the economic imperative.

He said: “I hope the recently announced Assembly Government review will act catalyst for change – all we have left is hope”.

Mr Brown’s sentiments are echoed by Paul Booth, head of Ogmore Primary in Bridgend who also believes none of the party’s education policies in Wales are radical enough. He says the only way forward is system-wide change. He also thinks that 3-19 schools deserve serious consideration. “Schools”, he says, “can no longer operate in splendid isolation and must pool their resources to raise outcomes for children.”

All the major parties say there is a need to tackle the bureaucratic costs associated with maintaining 22 local authorities in a country of three million people.

But for Plaid, the solution to finding more funding does not come from within. The party says it will fight for a fairer settlement for Wales from Westminster under the Barnett Formula, to replace the current population-based mechanism. Speaking at their conference last month, Plaid leader Ieuan Wyn Jones said he would fight for more money so “he could protect schools and hospitals from cuts in public spending”.

"Tough times ahead" 

Currently the Tories have the least to say on their education plans. Their Education spokesperson for Wales, Paul Davies AM, said more detail would be revealed at their conference later this month. But David Cameron has already indicated there will be a freeze on teachers’ pay. And in a statement to NAHT Cymru, Mr Davies admitted there would be “tough times ahead” under a Tory Government.

“All parties must recognise that there are funding issues and implications across the board, which will affect spending both on a national and a devolved level,” he warned.

But with Welsh Conservative leader Nick Bourne already indicating the party would address widening funding and performance gaps, there will be support for the party at the grassroots. Mr Bourne has said under Tory government in Wales, schools should have “academy-style” freedoms and trust teachers to get on with the job without interference. The Tories also say extra money could be found by axing Labour “gimmicks and giveaways”, such as the free breakfast scheme.

The only party in Wales to promise more from within the current settlement to Wales is the Welsh Liberal Democrats. Party leader Kirsty Williams attacked Carwyn Jones over Labour’s education record at the Welsh Liberal Democrats’ conference last month. She hit out at Labour for “feeding kids free breakfasts but starving them of text books”.  

Party leader Nick Clegg has pledged £2.5 billion ring-fenced for education funding, resulting in an additional £75 million reaching Wales.  But Ms Williams said £48 million could already be found in the current Welsh budget to pump into education from £50 million of unallocated cash in the coffers of Health Minister Edwina Hart.

Pupil Premium 

Ms Randerson explained that the result of more money for Wales would be a pupil premium - an extra £2,500 for every child entitled to a free school meal. Although staunchly in favour of retaining local democracy, she said there was cause to look more closely at its cost effectiveness. With a further referendum on the devolution of powers on the horizon - along with the Assembly Government elections next year - the education landscape of Wales could change dramatically over the next 18 months,

There is an increasing appetite too for the handing over of the last vestige of educational power held by Westminster – teachers’ pay and conditions. According to Ms Randerson, taking control of teachers’ pay in Wales would not result in lower pay awards. She said the party would give cash incentives for teachers to work in deprived schools with poor achievement records – a sentiment shared by all other parties.

Nicola Porter is the former editor of TES Cymru

and has recently launched her own website

www.educationreporter.co.uk