At the Stop School Cuts, NEU cllr briefing – 3rd July 2018
Our local schools are facing significant cuts in funding in real terms, putting pressure on school budgets and level of staffing. In particular SEND (Special Education Needs and Disabilities) funding is facing pressure, with rising demand and a cut in real terms income.
Funding for schools comes from the Conservative run Central Government, with the local authority just acting as distributor of funds. In the Autumn this year, the government is setting its spending plan for each department. All of us who care, about education and our children future should join in the campaign.
At Tower Hamlets, together with the Mayor and Cabinet Member for Children Services, the council will pass a motion in conjunction with other local authorities to highlight the issue.
What can you do?:
Read up on the issue
Below is a link to a really good explainer around the issue, by the National Education Union (NEU) about the issue:
NEU610 – London Councillor briefing
Speak to your school
Go along to your local school, after the summer break and find out the extent of funding cuts the school is facing. Speak to teachers and staff to understand the pressure they are facing to maintain existing high level of teaching with less resources.
Write in to your MP:
You can write into our local MP, Jim Fiztpatrick: [email protected]
You can write to the Education Secretary, Damian Hinds: [email protected]
There is a model letter below that you can use:
Dear Damian Hinds, Secretary of State for Education,
The Government’s recent cash injection for SEND does not introduce any new money into Local Authority budgets and this will not solve the long term challenges LAs and schools face in delivering effective SEND provision. Lack of adequate SEND funding is limiting local authorities’ ability to meet their statutory duties for children living with SEND. The result has been far-reaching reductions to SEND provision and nationally over 2,000 children and young people identified with complex needs with no education provision at all.
I am writing to call for:
A significant increase in High Needs Block funding to local authorities, which will allow LAs and schools to provide appropriate support to children and young people with the most complex needs
An immediate increase in funding for schools which will allow them to deliver additional
support for SEND children
A fair, sustainable funding system for SEND that will respond to the individual needs of each local area and acknowledge the complexities of providing high quality SEND Education.
The Government must commit to working with local authorities and other stakeholders with an interest in SEND in order to achieve this. We urge the Government to act quickly on this matter, so that every child with SEND can receive the support they need to thrive.
Yours
With fellow Councillors with our pledges to fight the cuts to school funding. Cllr Gabriela Salva – St. Peters and Cllr Danny Hassell Bromley South.
Burdett Estate
People who live on block of flats do like the fact that people on ground floor have sheds and storing whatever they like inside. People have been found storing gas canisters, gasoline and other extremely flammable materials in their sheds. If there is a fire than people on ground floor will be the first ones to be able to leave the building. But people who live above will struggle the most to get out safely on time especially people who have elderly and young children in their flats. Therefore we strongly suggest that people on ground floor should not have sheds or any other materials stored at the back of the property. This is for safety reasons. If people are living in a house than yes they can keep a shed as it is not going to effect the safety of any other residents living above. If you take the shed issue forward and insist that people should have sheds t the backyard when there are people living upstairs and if there is an incident then you will take the full responsibility forany loss of life or property.
Poplar HARCA are introducing a licensing scheme, to regulate the use of sheds to tackle the issues that you have raised. Once that is finalised am happy to get residents comments whether they meet all the concerns raised by everyone, shed and non-non shed residents