How will the budget cuts impact education?

With the formation of the next government beginning to take shape it is perhaps finally time to envisage the impact a Parliamentary coalition will have on education. There is no doubt that education, as a public sector service, is going to experience cuts not seen for a number of years and this will no doubt be causing educational services up and down the country some concern. It is noticeable whilst on my travels that a large number of Educational authorities have already begun the process of what they will no doubt term ‘streamlining’ in a bid to increase cost efficiencies; this has been accelerated in some cases by the prospect of de-centralisation of funding control in some areas away from local authorities and back into the schools themselves. I’m led to believe that schools will then form foundations or clusters to buy in services relating primarily to their School Improvement Plans. The question that remains is how will funding be affected now and will these plans be upheld or a different route selected? Or a more appropriate question is how will a coalition government protect the interests of all children, and teachers responsible for their education? With the Conservative party already offering an indication of their intent pre-election, through their blocking of the Curriculum Reform Act that followed the Rose review, where does this coalition leave education now? Probably with more questions than answers…

Dr David Morley
Head Of Education, ESP