Today Stephen Morgan MP met Minister of State for School Standards, Nick Gibb MP with local school and trade union representatives to lobby for a better funding deal for Portsmouth.
The man in government responsible today heard directly in Westminster from Portsmouth schools the challenges government funding cuts are having on schools and colleges across the city.
The meeting, organised by city MP Stephen Morgan, provided an opportunity for the Minister to listen to concerns and commit to doing something about it so that every young person in Portsmouth has the chance to succeed.
Joining Stephen Morgan were headteachers from Priory and Fernhurst Schools, a teacher from St Jude’s CofE Primary and the Principal of Portsmouth College. The Vice President of the National Education Union also attended to represent the teaching profession.
The meeting follows months of listening to concerns and lobbying of the government by the Portsmouth South MP.
Mr Morgan first raised concerns over city school funding with the Prime Minister a year ago, pushed Ministers via parliamentary questions and letters to act, visited local schools, met with local trade union officials and undertook a survey of Portsmouth schools and colleges, and launched a Portsmouth Against School Cuts campaign last year to get the support of parents, teachers and members of the community.
After repeated requests for a meeting, the Minister agreed.
Research suggests that Portsmouth is set to lose £3.7m of funding in the coming years, affecting over 50 schools in the city. Sixth form colleges have also been cut by 22% in real terms over the past eight years resulting in cuts to staff, curriculum and enrichment activities.
A survey undertaken across schools in the Portsmouth South constituency by Stephen Morgan has identified that not a single respondent indicated they were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with their schools current funding situation and 100% of schools involved in the survey expressed that they had had to make cuts since 2015.
The survey has revealed that the main areas of concern surround SEND provision and its impact on other areas as well as the fact that that roughly half of respondents claimed that staff had provided resources at their own expense. These results were fed back to the Minister at the policy meeting
Today’s meeting, initiated by Mr. Morgan, has taken place on the same day that The Sixth Form College Association has published survey results on funding cuts. Their findings corroborate the survey commissioned by the Portsmouth MP, with 76% of colleges expressing that they feel the amount of funding they will receive next year will be insufficient to provide support required by disadvantaged students.
Worryingly, the survey results from The Sixth Form College Association also convey concerns over class sizes, with over 80% of respondents now dealing with larger classes and nearly half expressing that they have reduced the delivery hours of individual courses.
The findings of the survey are also in line with the sentiments of the Raise the Rate campaign, calling for a raise in the annual funding rate for 16 to 18-year olds from £4,000 to £4,760. If this does not take place it is likely that schools and colleges will no longer be able to deliver high quality, internationally competitive sixth form education.
Stephen Morgan MP said:
“Analysis by the House of Commons Library has found that real-terms spending on schools and colleges has slumped from £95.5bn in 2011 to £87.8bn last year, a total fall of £7.7bn. What’s more, education spending as a share of GDP fell from 5.69 per cent to 4.27 per cent, a decline of 25 per cent in only seven years.
These figures come as no surprise to teachers in Portsmouth who are having to make do with less and parents who are receiving begging letters from schools to cover basic supplies.
I will never allow the government to let Portsmouth children pay the price for these cuts to our city’s schools.”
Specific issues discussed at the summit included, rising demand for SEND provision, subjects being dropped from the curriculum, staff recruitment and retention and with costs rising a sense that “schools are hanging on by their finger nails”.
On this, Mr. Morgan added:
“The fact that the Minister is having 3-4 meetings a week where teachers and education professionals are telling him they need more funding to survive is a canary in the mine.
Across the education sector, from primary schools to sixth form colleges, our city needs better funding from this government”
Amanda Martin, Vice President of the NEU added:
“I am grateful for the meeting set up by Stephen Morgan MP with the minister Nick Gibb myself and educational representatives from the city.
It is vital that the government listens and acts to halt and reverse the crisis in education funding that is having a catastrophic effect across schools in the city. This is affecting school’s ability to run broad and balanced curriculums, offer a real spread of subjects, provide adequate provision for our most vulnerable SEND pupils, and increasing teacher’s workload.
As we’ve heard today cuts are ultimately hindering the life chances of the young people of Portsmouth.”
Mr. Morgan has said that he is committed to continuing his campaign for a better funding deal for Portsmouth’s schools and colleges and looks forward to working alongside teachers and headteachers to achieve this goal.
