Funding crisis 'costs 3,500 teachers'

Secondary schools to cut thousands of posts.

By BBC Online

Secondary schools have lost almost 3,500 teaching posts in this year's funding crisis, a survey suggests.

The government has blamed most cuts on falling pupil numbers, rather than budget shortages of up to £500,000 suffered by many schools.

But the poll of 480 head teachers suggests three-quarters of the redundancies and lost posts have been in schools with rising or stable pupil rolls.

SHA general secretary John Dunford said: "The number of jobs lost in secondary schools is a true reflection of the extent of the damage to education in these schools from this year's funding problems.

"Where pupil numbers are not falling this inevitably means larger classes, fewer subjects to choose in GCSE, A-levels and vocational courses and the postponement of essential building work."

Government changes to the way schools are funded, higher teacher salaries and increased pension costs have been blamed for the crisis.

The poll found 730 teachers and support staff had been made redundant because of budget problems.

Meanwhile a further 2,729 teachers and 1,152 support staff had not been replaced after leaving.

Sourced from: BBC Online