Senedd debates 'harrowing' school funding crisis

Senedd members warned schools face “harrowing” funding pressures that risk failing a generation of children and young people in Wales.

Cefin Campbell led a Senedd debate on a report by the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), which warned of a deepening school funding crisis.

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Plaid Cymru’s shadow education secretary said NAHT Cymru found a third of schools are grappling with budget deficits and more than half expect to face a similar financial shortfall.

He pointed to Labour pledges on recruitment during July’s UK general election campaign, calling for details of the number of new teachers and when they will be in classrooms.

Mr Campbell told the Senedd: “The financial situation is dire now, the sector is facing a teacher recruitment crisis now and the skills gap is at its highest level on record now.”

The former lecturer, who represents Mid and West Wales, called for funding to reverse a 6% real-terms cut in spending per pupil identified in the report.

‘Not a clue’

Mr Campbell said the Welsh Government has missed its target for recruiting secondary school teachers for the past eight years, with almost 5,500 leaving the profession.

He explained that this equates to 100,000 years’ worth of experience lost.

He accused the Welsh Government of mismanaging and underfunding schools, leading to Wales’ worst results on record in last year’s international Pisa tests.

Referring to an ITV Wales report on literacy, Mr Campbell criticised “mixed messaging” as he warned ministers promoted “outdated and discredited” teaching guidance.

He said: “Is it any wonder that teachers, parents and pupils are confused by all of this, if the government seemingly doesn’t have a clue about what it’s doing or saying from day to day?

“This failure to improve literacy levels is a damning indictment.”

‘Brutal reality’

Vaughan Gething argued Labour can be proud of its record of investing in schools despite the “brutal reality” of 14 years of austerity under the previous UK Government.

Wales’ former first minister said the Welsh Government has invested more than £3bn in new buildings for schools and colleges over the past decade.

Mr Gething, now a backbencher, pointed to an above-inflation 5.5% pay offer for teachers as he criticised a “painful and shameful” pattern of Wales being shortchanged by the Tories.

He told the Senedd that Labour’s commitment to ending tax breaks for private schools will see that money instead invested in state education.

Mr Gething, who will stand down as Cardiff South and Penarth MS in 2026, said a 6% increase for schools would equate to finding about £215m this year.

He warned: “It’s not intellectually honest to claim the resources could be found from waste or attacking perceived mismanagement.”

‘Catastrophic’

Warning of a bleak picture for Welsh schools, Tom Giffard, the Tories’ shadow education secretary, described the NAHT report as “shocking but not surprising”.

Mr Giffard argued the Welsh Government’s additional learning needs (ALN) system has proved bureaucratic and expensive.

He told the Senedd that 87% of school leaders described funding for ALN as inadequate, with 88% saying this has caused huge financial pressures.

Plaid Cymru’s Sioned Williams raised concerns about more than 61% of secondary school pupils who are eligible for free school meals being persistently absent in 2023/24.

“That is an absolutely catastrophic figure,” she warned.

Wales’ education secretary Lynne Neagle recognised the financial pressures on schools, saying she does not underestimate the scale of the challenge.

‘£700m lower’

Ms Neagle, who has been in post for six months, said the Welsh Government is delivering a new curriculum, ALN and mental health reform, and universal free school meals in primaries.

She told the Senedd that the Welsh Government's settlement is still worth up to £700m less in real terms than expected in 2021.

Stressing that councils are responsible for funding schools, she said ministers have sought to protect public services with local authorities receiving a 3.3% increase this year.

Ms Neagle said council funding formulas for schools will be reviewed, with the aim of making the system more transparent, comparable and consistent.

Following the debate on October 9, members voted 23-25 against the Plaid Cymru motion. The Welsh Government's amended version was agreed by the same margin in reverse.