Wrexham Primary Headteachers’ Federation
9th February 2024Â
Dear Parents and Carers,
Budget Cuts – The Impact on our Schools
The Wrexham Primary Headteachers’ Federation is an organisation representing all the headteachers in primary and special schools in Wrexham. Members are appointed by their local cluster of schools to represent the views of headteachers in discussions with the council.
Having consulted with all our colleagues, we are writing to ensure that all parents and carers are fully informed of the significant consequences currently facing all our schools in relation to our budgets and the subsequent impact on the services we will be able to provide.
You will no doubt be aware that the impending cuts across services in Wrexham County Borough Council will include education and specifically the amount of money that is available for schools. In this coming financial year beginning on April 1st, there will be considerable financial constraints imposed on our schools. This will present significant challenges and place every school, primary, secondary and special in a very difficult budgetary position.
Inflation, energy costs and increased staffing costs, have resulted in a considerable impact on local government spending. There has been a slight increase in the Welsh educational budget, but the extremely high rate of inflation has meant a considerable cut in real terms. Of greatest concern to headteachers and governing bodies is the impact this will have on learners across Wrexham. Increased energy costs have already placed an enormous burden on school budgets and primary schools are having to pick up the increased costs in relation to the “free school meals” initiative.
These are unprecedented times as regards school finances and budgets, and headteachers have never known the situation to be so dreadful. We are worried about the likely impact:
- redundancies causing a reduction in staffingÂ
- larger classes Â
- fewer trips and extra-curricular activities that are either subsidised by schools or require high levels of staffingÂ
- support for pupils with additional needs will be seriously affected Â
- less support for children needing extra help with literacy and maths interventionsÂ
- less support for children who need wellbeing interventionsÂ
- less support for children with behavioural difficulties, leading to more disruption and exclusionsÂ
- less support for children with complex needs in mainstream schoolsÂ
- fewer resources for the children to useÂ
- the stifling of innovation at a time of great change and opportunity including the New Curriculum for Wales, new examination qualifications and important national initiativesÂ
- repairs and upkeep of school buildings will sufferÂ
- general health and safety in schoolsÂ
- negative judgements from Estyn as a result of reduced servicesÂ
As headteachers, we want to assure our families that we will always do our utmost to maintain the core provision in our schools, protecting teaching and learning by placing our learners and staff at the heart of everything we do. However, we believe headteachers and governors will have to make a choice between providing the current level of service or balancing the books. Therefore, it is inevitable that in many cases, schools will not be able to provide and sustain the same level of support and services due to the significant shortfall in our funding.
If this happens in your school over the next year, we would ask you please to remember that much of this will be completely out of the control of your headteacher and governors, but part of a much wider financial issue.
As headteachers we are grateful for the ongoing support from Wrexham’s education and other county officers in helping us to navigate our way through this situation. However, your support and understanding during these challenging times are invaluable. We have made representations locally and nationally to councillors and members of the Senedd and we will continue to do this.
This letter has been written in consultation with all primary headteachers in Wrexham and your local headteacher will be happy to discuss any concerns you may have. However, please be aware that we are all at an early stage of the budget planning process and we may not yet be able to answer some individual questions.
Yours faithfully,
Wrexham Primary Headteachers’ Federation
A Welsh version of this letter will be available soon. Apologies for the delay.