REDBRIDGE SECONDARY HEADTEACHERS GROUP c/o Ms Jo Pomeroy Chair RSHG 2016 2017 Woodford County High School High Road, Woodford Green IG8 9LA [email protected]

30 March 2017

Dear Parent/Carers

Inadequate school funding is endangering our children’s chances

You will be aware from national news coverage that schools, over a period of years now, have been operating on an income which in real terms is reducing year on year. Put simply, school funding is now inadequate to meet the needs of students.

The Headteachers of Redbridge Secondary Schools are having to cut courses, increase class sizes and reduce the personal support we provide to the young people attending schools across the borough as school budgets fail to meet the real needs of our students. We are now at crisis point and have decided it is time to share our concerns with you, the parents and carers of the young people whose future opportunities are at risk.

Redbridge Secondary Schools have, for many years, had to manage rising costs with less and less money in real terms as cuts bite deeper into educational provision. Unfunded increases in staffing costs, difficulties in appointing and keeping experienced, well-qualified staff, new exam courses at both GCSE and in the Sixth form and the need to provide extra space for more students have all placed additional demands upon ‘frozen’ school budgets. The money is quite simply running out.

To make ends meet headteachers and governors are now having to make cuts which threaten the quality of the education we provide for your sons and daughters. Staffing costs make up by far the greatest proportion (over 80%) of school spending. To balance school budgets, Redbridge schools are cutting staff all of whom (whether office staff, teaching assistants or classroom teachers) contribute to the education and welfare of young people who attend our schools.

These cuts have meant that young people in the Borough’s schools are:

 Being taught in larger classes as teacher numbers are reduced.  Receiving less in-class support to meet particular learning needs and help improve understanding and progress.  Having less subject choice at GCSE and in the Sixth Form because schools can no longer afford to run very small classes. (National Curriculum subjects such as Art, Music, and Modern Languages are affected as well as other subjects that have previously enriched the school’s curriculum.)  Receiving fewer opportunities for out-of-class support to bolster learning and ensure examination readiness.  Working in less well maintained buildings with some accommodation, including toilet blocks, no longer available for use.  Enjoying fewer extra-curricular activities at lunchtime and after-school and fewer off-site educational trips and visits because of growing teacher workloads.

Wider spending cuts also mean that schools have less support from other public services such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), school nurses and counsellors.

Redbridge Schools have established a very good reputation for progress and achievement in recent years, a record that these cuts make increasingly difficult to sustain.

The way schools are funded is changing in order to make it fairer for all schools across the country. Whilst we recognise fair funding of schools is appropriate, this change adds to the uncertainty facing our schools in an already difficult period. The Government appears not to have calculated how much it actually costs to provide a high quality education to every student in Redbridge and to guarantee this as a minimum level of funding to our schools. We are facing more budget cuts between now and 2020 with a further reduction in educational provision and choice for young people in Redbridge.

We are writing to the parents of school children in Redbridge to draw your attention to this crisis. The situation is set to get worse. We have contacted local MPs but feel strongly that everyone should understand the knock-on effects of government policy in this area. We write to draw your attention to our concerns and to ask for your voice in demanding increased funding for education. It matters to us all that the high quality of education that the young people and parents of Redbridge have come to expect is maintained.

Yours faithfully,

Dr A. Atkins Ms T. Wilmot Mr S. Bull

Ms J. Hamill

Mr A. Rehling Oaks Park High School

Ms R. Drysdale Mayfield School Ilford County High School

Ms T. Smith Mr W. Thompson Seven Kings High School Mr J. d’Abbro The Forest Academy The New Rush Hall School

Ms K. Reilly Dr P. Doherty Ms A. Moise-Dixon The Trinity Catholic High School The

Mr R. Hamlyn Mr R. Laws Mr A. Beaumont Woodbridge High School

Ms J. Pomeroy Woodford County High School