Schools in Cardiff are facing “considerable deficits” and children’s education across Wales will be “diminished” if it is not funded adequately, a headteacher has warned. Huw Powell, head of Mary Immaculate High, warned staff and subjects will be cut with school budgets not matching rising costs.
Cardiff Council said several factors have contributed to “a level of financial uncertainty and challenge for all schools across the city, that they would not have experienced for many years”. The true picture won’t be known until early May when budgets have to be reported.
Fuel alone is hitting school finances hard with the gas and electricity bill at Mary Immaculate soaring from £30,000 to around £150,000 this year. There are also concerns about rising staff costs and a fall in pupil numbers in years ahead.
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“We may be looking at considerable deficits for Cardiff schools. Some have already lost staff and cut budgets to get to this point,” said Mr Powell, “It is not extras that will be lost but core staffing and subjects and the support pupils require."
Mary Immaculate will report a deficit budget this year for the first time in his eight years at the school, despite an 8% increase in funding from Cardiff Council. That’s not down to bad financial planning, but costs rising above 8%, Mr Powell said.
Mr Powell called on the Welsh Government give schools the funding they need via local authorities: “If education is a priority then schools should receive the funding they need to do the best for the young people in their care. We are facing a diminished education for young people over the next few years because of cuts to school funding - this can and will have an impact on the education and support pupils receive.”
Vital support such as post-Covid recovery literacy and numeracy catch up programmes may have to go in the next year because schools can’t afford them, he said.
“We are talking about impact on young people. Potentially we could lose subjects we offer and have a narrowing of the curriculum in the next few years.
“Schools are having to cut support services and work to help behaviour and vulnerable pupils.”
Cardiff Secondary Heads Association has reported several schools looking at deficits, even those cushioned by reserves.
Responding to the concerns a Cardiff Council spokesperson said: “Cardiff Council agreed it’s budget for the 2023/24 financial year at its meeting on Thursday 9th March 2023.
“The council budget for the 2023/24 financial year included an increase in school delegated budgets of £25.052m which increased the overall budget for schools from £269.663m in 2022/23 to £294.715m in 2023/24, an uplift of 9.29%.
“This overall increase was one of the highest provided by a local authority to its delegated school budgets in Wales. This increase was agreed at a time when the council faced a budget gap of £24.2m, showing the priority we place on education in the city.
“Following the council meeting, schools in Cardiff, were informed of their individual school budgets on Friday 10th March 2023. In accordance with Welsh Government funding regulations school budgets are distributed using a formula which uses pupil numbers as a key factor.
“After applying the formula for the 127 schools in Cardiff, 121 schools will receive an increase in their budget. Six primary schools will have a decrease in their budgets due to a decrease in the numbers of pupils in the school next year.
“The increase of 9.29% in education funding this year will help the school system across Cardiff address a number of challenges we are facing including in summary: a decrease in pupil numbers; the impact of inflation; and the amount of grant funding reducing in number and value over the last 12 months from Welsh Government.
“There is also the added complexity in that at the start of the 2022-23 financial year schools in Cardiff had circa £32m in unspent balances which many of them have used during the financial year to fund elements of their spending plans.
“Current projections indicate that surplus balances across schools in Cardiff will reduce to approximately £19m for the start of the 2023/24 financial year. All of these factors will have contributed to a level of financial uncertainty and challenge for all schools across the city, that they would not have experienced for many years.
“The governing body of each school has been given until the 15th May 2023 to agree a balanced budget for the 2023/24 financial year and inform the local authority of its spending plan. Should a governing body be unable to set a balanced budget it must apply to the local authority by 12th May for permission to set a deficit budget, the application has to be supported by a medium-term financial plan showing how it will move to a balanced position within three financial years.
“This deadline was extended due to the Easter break, providing schools with more time in recognition of school workloads.”
The spokesperson added that extra money has been provided by Cardiff Bay to cover the teachers’ pay award, agreed after a widespread teacher strike across Wales.
“ Since the distribution of the council budget, Welsh Government have provided schools with some additional financial assistance in meeting the additional costs arising from the teachers’ pay award. Welsh Government has allocated additional grants totalling, £6.040m to Cardiff LA for this purpose, all of which has been passed onto schools.
“Schools are still working through their spending plans. We will not know exactly how many are in deficit until the 12th May.
“Local authority teams will continue to support headteachers and governing bodies through their budget setting processes and will continue to do so moving forward.”
The Welsh Government responds:
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The cost-of-living crisis is having a significant impact on family budgets, the private sector, and our public services, including schools. Despite our budget this year being up to £900m lower in real terms than expected initially, we ensured local authorities, who fund schools, received an increase of 7.9% to their budgets compared to the previous year so that they can continue to prioritise school funding.” To get our free daily briefing on the biggest issues affecting the nation, Wales Matters, click here
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