Strike call over sixth form cuts

By Gary Eason
BBC News website education editor, at the NUT conference

Ken Cridland fears a reduction in the quality of education

One of the biggest education unions has called for strikes to defend the jobs of teachers affected by a shortfall in sixth form funding in England.

Problems arose because schools and colleges have thousands more students than the funding council had expected.

Delegates at the National Union of Teachers (NUT) conference said a £200m shortfall would hit working class youngsters hardest.

It is hoped the chancellor will make good the gap in the Budget next week.

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC), which funds post-16 education in England, outside universities, says it has provided £6.7bn for next year, up from £6.3bn.

But something like 35,000 more students than it had predicted have chosen to stay in education beyond the age of 16 - in line with government wishes - and funding has not been provided for them.

Schools and colleges were told of their final budgets in early March, only to be informed weeks later that in fact they faced a funding shortfall of up to 3.7%.

Critics of the LSC - which has also made a mess of funding a college rebuilding programme - say it should have expected this to happen in a recession.

The NUT motion instructed the union's leaders to "seek to defend the jobs of teachers affected by these cuts, by collective action where possible, up to and including strike action".

Working class kids

At the NUT conference Jane Bassett, from London, said: "For 10 years we've been repeatedly exhorted to drag our students through endless tests in order to reach that holy grail - five A*-Cs, and the route to the sparkling new future in the new knowledge economy."

She added: "It is an absolute disgrace that a Labour government has now turned round to the young people we've been teaching and said: 'You don't count any longer, you're on the scrap heap and we're not going to fund your education'.''

Ealing teacher Martin Allen told the NUT conference the cuts would have a disproportionately large effect on poorer students.

If you are a working class kid going to do a vocational course at a further education college it is going to affect you

Teacher Martin Allen

"If you are doing the Cambridge Pre-U at Eton or Harrow this isn't really going to affect you.

"Life is going to go on as usual, you're still going to get a job at the end.

"If you are a working class kid going to do a vocational course at a further education college it is going to affect you."

Providers of Entry to Employment (E2E) training for many of the most disadvantaged young people, many of whom are charities, say they have been unable to get confirmation of funding from the LSC.

Ken Cridland said the school in Lancashire where he teaches physics had already made 12 staff redundant before this latest problem arose.

It had been told it would be funded for 288 sixth formers even though it had 299 already and was expecting 30 or 40 more this autumn.

Either places would not be available or they would be squeezed in to existing tutorial groups, meaning a reduction in the quality of education. Some smaller courses might close.

He told journalists he hoped there would be a reprieve from the chancellor.

"I think all of us would greatly hope that he does put it right: there seems to be plenty of money around for bankers and others.

"That would be wonderful because it would save the jobs of our members and that's what we want - we don't want a fight."

'Lost generation'

A spokeswoman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: "We are still working across government on the extra financial support we need to provide for the new learners that are coming forward.

"The LSC will write again to schools and colleges at the end of this month.

"A strike by teachers would be counterproductive and would only hinder students' learning."

The conference resolution said: "We don't want our students to become part of another 'lost generation', like the school leavers of the 1980s."

There are also big cuts in post-16 budgets in Wales, though the NUT - meeting in Cardiff - made no reference to those.

The Welsh Assembly Government says a tight budget has meant difficult decisions, so it is increasing sixth form funding slightly - meaning a cut in real terms - and cutting the money to further education colleges by about 1% overall.

The Conservatives say it is "utter madness" to be cutting back in the sector, when it is needed to retrain thousands of redundant workers.