Monday 17 February 2025
From: Calderdale Against School Cuts
Over half of Calderdale primary schools plan to make teachers redundant
Increases in school costs have outstripped any recent funding that the government has provided.
The latest survey of Calderdale primary headteachers, conducted by Calderdale Against School Cuts, revealed:
- 54% plan to make teaching staff redundant
- 83% will not replace staff who leave
- 66% plan to make support staff redundant
- 81% will need to cut back on maintenance and repairs
- 96% have concerns about balancing the school budget for the next 3 years.
Sue McMahon, Calderdale Against School Cuts spokesperson said, "The survey results show the situation has clearly not improved. Four years ago, a quarter of primary headteachers were looking to make teachers redundant. Today it is over half.
"Our earlier surveys revealed that schools made cuts by reducing support staff, maintenance, and resources; this survey showed that over half of our primary schools plan to make teachers redundant, whilst more than three quarters will not replace staff who leave.
"The financial constraints that schools are under, due to the unfunded 2.8% teachers' pay rise, has left headteachers little option but to cut. The clock is ticking as the increase in needs of children & families, are exponential.
"Schools use every opportunity to support and engage with families to help ease the burdens of the cost-of-living crisis and poverty. The more support they can provide, the better circumstances there are for children; this is now a nigh-on impossible task with rising levels of deprivation and an increasingly needy school population.
"Headteachers cannot afford to replace staff who leave, whilst schools cannot afford to continue to do more with less.
"An unfunded pay award, school costs rising, local services stripped back to the bare minimum, local authorities struggling financially due to over a decade of neglect and underfunding; so much of it comes down to a lack of funding, which is causing huge anxiety.
"The government must grasp the nettle. The 'Growth' agenda might well be the latest government initiative, but without fundamental investment in schools, the growth agenda is dead in the water."
Comments from headteachers
"Sadly, our best is never good enough and schools rely more than ever on the goodwill of exhausted staff!"
"The unfunded pay increase is both unrealistic and unaffordable."
"Rising costs and rising SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) wiped out our budget."
"Lack of fully funded pay rises is a significant factor."
"We don't have enough support staff to meet the needs of the children."
"We cut costs wherever possible, but this is to the detriment of children and staff."
"Concerned about the sustainability of the school."
"How can we keep going and not go into deficit?"
"We will have to reduce SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) support for children with and without EHCPs. (education health care plan)"
"We don't have the staff available to support the increase in SEMH (social, emotional and mental health) as we'd like."
"SEND funding is outstripped by costs."
"We can't afford the level of support needed for pupils with complex needs – their top-up funding doesn't cover what they need."
"Unable to replace old IT equipment – limits pupil access to online learning resources & makes it difficult to deliver the computing curriculum."
"We will have to make reductions in all areas of school."
"We cannot afford to replace kitchen staff or midday supervisors."
"Having to cutback on staff means that staff workload is getting bigger & bigger resulting in lower staff well-being."
The survey is for the financial year 2025/26. Issued to 84 Calderdale primary headteachers in academies and maintained schools with 57% returned.