** Motion 51 Education funding crisis

Merged into composite 09

Congress condemns the government’s continuing failure to take meaningful action to provide higher funding for schools, colleges and early years education.

Schools and colleges continue to suffer staffing losses, curriculum narrowing and cuts to spending on equipment and services. Schools serving the most
disadvantaged students are suffering some of the greatest cuts. School teacher numbers fell by more than 5,000 last year, while pupil numbers rose by 66,000.

Congress is dismayed that funding for students with special educational needs has come under particular pressure, affecting the very right to education for some. Congress affirms that funding for special educational needs, post-16 education and early years education must be afforded the same prominence and priority as funding for mainstream schools.

Congress reaffirms its support for funding campaigns, including the School Cuts campaign led by GMB, NAHT, NEU, UNISON and Unite, and parent and head teacher campaigns.

Congress calls on the government to:

i. fully fund schools for the 2018 support staff and teacher pay increases
ii. announce an immediate investment in education funding in its Autumn Budget and to reverse the process of cuts of £2.8bn per annum since 2015
iii. increase education spending in its comprehensive spending review in order to bring forward fair funding and activity led funding
iv. work with education unions and parent groups on the deployment of additional funding and a fairer funding system.

Congress calls on the General Council to continue to work with education unions and campaign groups in pursuit of the above priorities.

National Education Union

AMENDMENT

At end of paragraph 2 add new sentence:
“At the same time, 24,000 teaching jobs have gone in further education colleges and staff have seen the value of their pay fall by 25% in the last 10 years”.
In paragraph 5, insert a new sub-paragraph iii. and renumber remaining sub-paragraphs:
“iii. fully fund a pay increase in colleges that meets the further education unions’ 2018/19 claim”.

University and College Union