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Hundreds of millions of pounds for education in Wales is swallowed up by wasteful bureaucracy and duplication and never gets to schools, the organisation representing school leaders claims.

Out of the £2.5bn allocated for schools in Wales’ education budget this year, at least £450m never got to schools because it was kept by local authorities or regional school improvement consortium, the Association of School and College Leaders Cymru estimates.

They say this is “unacceptable” at a time of cuts which are already affecting children’s education and putting the much anticipated new National Curriculum “in jeopardy”.

Quoting Welsh Government figures from the School Funding in Wales – Research Briefing August 2018, ASCL Cymru says that document shows tens of millions of pounds are being spent by local education authorities on paperwork and duplication.

The figures show £22.4m for “school improvement” when ASCL says that is work already funded with tens of millions of pounds given separately to the four school improvement consortia.

A further £54.5m is listed for “strategic management – schools” and £879,000 for “other LA Education budget – schools”.

ASCL director Tim Pratt said it is unclear what these headings mean or where the money is spent. He believes if schools were given more of the budget directly they would spend it better than administrators.

“There is too much duplication. Some schools are having to fill out three forms to tell three different bodies the same information,” he said.

Separate figures obtained by ASCL Cymru under Freedom of Information laws show £40m is retained by the school improvement consortia but not delegated to schools. Mr Pratt said it is again unclear what they use this money for.

He said it is inefficient that both local education authorities and consortia are tasked with school improvement and this should be looked at by Welsh Government .

On top of this hard pressed schools are also “under pressure” to buy back services such as catering and legal advice from their local LEA, even when they may not be the best or most cost effective, ASCL Cymru claims.

“There is emerging evidence of a further £100m going back to local authorities [LAs] in Service Level Agreements across eight LAs who have so far responded to FoI requests.

"We predict that at the end of the FoI process there will be a further £250m going back to LAs for services in schools,” the association said in a statement.

The figures the teaching leaders cite £54.5m for “strategic management – schools”

£40m kept by schools improvement consortia

£22m in a separate pot for schools improvement

£879,000 for “other LA Education budget – schools”.

£100m (at least) going back from schools to councils to buy services

Mr Pratt estimated at least half of all secondary schools across Wales are now in deficit and said the need to address any waste in education bureaucracy is urgent. The rate of deficit is less in primary schools, but also growing, he said.

“We can’t say all the £450m not going directly to schools is wasted but we need more clarity at a time when we have more than a significant number of schools in deficit and increasing daily."

Lee Cummins, ASCL Cymru vice president, said: "There is clearly a need for LAs to retain monies to support schools, ASCL are however concerned about the duplication of services and ensuring that every penny that can get to the front line does, said

"We want to support the minister's vision but we can not do this with the finance currently available to schools. £22m on school improvement retained by LAs and £54m on Strategic Leadership of School by people external to schools is an issue.

"We have an overcrowded layer of bureaucracy which is stopping funding from getting to the front line. Our members are concerned that learners will suffer as a result of these financial challenges."

ASCL Cymru has now written to Education Secretary Kirsty Williams warning that pupils are not getting the education they need because funding is “totally inadequate” and too much never gets to schools.

“We feel it is unacceptable that out of the £2.5bn allocated for schools in the education budget, at least £450m never gets to schools because it is retained by the local authorities or regional consortia,” the letter says.

“It cannot be right that this amount of the money meant for children’s education does not actually reach the places where learning takes place and the curriculum and preparation for qualifications are delivered.”

ASCL goes on to claim that too much time and effort over school improvement is duplicated in the work of the four school improvement consortia and councils.

“In some areas, both the regional consortium and the local authority undertake elements of this work at significant additional cost to the taxpayer.

“We need a consistent approach to school improvement across the whole of Wales, and the resulting savings should be sent to schools for resources, teachers and support staff.”

ASCL Cymru said it has taken the unusual step of making the letter public because “we feel that the Welsh public needs to be aware of the severity of the situation and the risk to standards".

Cash-starved schools are unable to deliver Wales’ long awaited new curriculum, class sizes are rising, teacher numbers are falling and after school activities shutting, the letter signed by Jackie Parker ASCL Cymru president, Lee Cummins ASCL Cymru vice president and Hugh Davies ASCL Cymru immediate past president, adds.

The situation is now so bad that schools with budget deficits will soon become the norm rather than the exception with head teachers across all stages of education reporting concerns, they say.

After repeatedly raising the issue of cuts on schools ASCL Cymru says it is circulating the letter “to express our frustration and dismay about the severe funding crisis in Welsh schools and the detrimental effect this is having on our young people".

The association’s warning that school reforms will fail without more money comes a month after the Welsh Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Education Wales warned the Welsh Government that the new curriculum will not teach pupils “enough of what really matters” and teaching union the NASUWT said teachers had lost faith in the reform process they had supported.

It also comes just a few weeks as the National Education Union Cymru is calling for the school improvement consortia to be wound up.

(Image: Media Wales)

In its letter to Kirsty Williams ASCL Cymru details how it has backed the new curriculum and education reforms, but says these are now at risk from lack of money.

“As you know, ASCL Cymru and its members have been fully committed to the Welsh Government’s Action Plan 2017-21 “Education in Wales: Our National Mission”.

“We support your vision to ensure that every young person in Wales achieves the highest level of achievement and reaches their full potential. We have supported curriculum reform, reform of the workforce and embraced all elements of your comprehensive reform agenda.

“We have genuinely wanted to co-construct the future with you. However, all of these reforms are now in jeopardy, due primarily to the totally inadequate level of funding in our schools.

“Our members are no longer able to provide the full range of opportunities and support that parents and carers have every right to expect.

“Our most vulnerable learners, those that the National Mission prioritises, are therefore significantly at risk,” the page-long letter warns.

Responding to the claims in the letter a Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The UK Government’s sustained austerity agenda has led to a cut of nearly £1bn to Wales’ overall budget.

“The Welsh Government will continue to call for additional resources to be spent on our public services, including our schools.

“Officials will meet with ASCL later this week to discuss the points that they have raised with regards to local authorities and consortia.

“School funding is the responsibility of local authorities and it is up to them how they spend this funding. We recently announced the single biggest investment in teachers since devolution and will continue to prioritise funding for schools across the country.”

ASCL Cymru’s letter to Education Secretary Kirsty Williams in full:

Dear Minister for Education,

As senior elected officers of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) Cymru, we are writing to express our frustration and dismay about the severe funding crisis in Welsh schools and the detrimental effect this is having on our young people.

As you know, ASCL Cymru and its members have been fully committed to the Welsh Government’s Action Plan 2017-21 “Education in Wales: Our National Mission”.

We support your vision to ensure that every young person in Wales achieves the highest level of achievement and reaches their full potential. We have supported curriculum reform, reform of the workforce and embraced all elements of your comprehensive reform agenda.

We have genuinely wanted to co-construct the future with you. However, all of these reforms are now in jeopardy, due primarily to the totally inadequate level of funding in our schools. Our members are no longer able to provide the full range of opportunities and support that parents and carers have every right to expect.

An increasing number of schools are unable to set a positive budget, and we fear that a deficit budget will shortly become the norm rather than the exception. Our members in all phases are desperately concerned.

The consequence of this can be seen in rising class sizes, decreasing numbers of support staff, and the cutting of many activities outside of the compulsory curriculum.

Our most vulnerable learners, those that the National Mission prioritises, are therefore significantly at risk. This is not simply about sufficiency of funding in the school system, this is also about the sufficiency of funding getting to the front line, our learners.

We feel it is unacceptable that out of the £2.5 billion allocated for schools in the education budget, at least £450 million never gets to schools because it is retained by the local authorities or regional consortia.

It cannot be right that this amount of the money meant for children’s education does not actually reach the places where learning takes place and the curriculum and preparation for qualifications are delivered.

In particular, there is too much duplication of time and effort over school improvement as, in some areas, both the regional consortium and the local authority undertake elements of this work at significant additional cost to the taxpayer.

We need a consistent approach to school improvement across the whole of Wales, and the resulting savings should be sent to schools for resources, teachers and support staff.

We know that you place great importance on the life chances of young people in Wales and we support your ambition. However, we urgently need to find a resolution to these matters and put in place a better deal for our young people. Such is the strength of feeling among our members that we have taken the unusual step of making this an open letter.

We feel that the Welsh public needs to be aware of the severity of the situation and the risk to standards.

Please be assured that ASCL Cymru is committed to the continuance of our ongoing constructive engagement with government, and we would welcome the opportunity to discuss these matters further.

Yours faithfully,

Jackie Parker ASCL Cymru President

Lee Cummins ASCL Cymru Vice-President

Hugh Davies ASCL Cymru Immediate Past President