School leaders raise alarm over missing education cash

Pembrokeshire Herald

01-05-2025

Union demands answers over fate of Welsh Government funding
SCHOOL leaders from Wales will this week call on their colleagues across the UK to support efforts to prevent children in Welsh schools from being 'short-changed'.
At NAHT's annual conference in Harrogate, leaders will raise concerns that additional funding received by the Welsh Government for education may not be reaching schools – or even being spent on education at all.
The funding in question, known as 'consequential' money, is triggered by additional education spending by the UK Government under the Barnett Formula, such as the commitments announced in last autumn's budget.
However, NAHT Cymru says it has been unable to confirm whether any of the extra funding received by the Welsh Government has reached schools, despite lodging Freedom of Information requests with officials in both Wales and England.
At the same time, many headteachers in Wales are struggling to set budgets without making painful cuts, including to staffing. A recent NAHT Cymru survey found more than half (53%) of schools predicted they would be in deficit this academic year.
Dean Taylor, headteacher at Pentrepoeth Primary School in Bassaleg near Newport, will urge delegates at the conference to back a motion calling for education funding in Wales to be ring-fenced.
The motion states that 'education consequential funding should be ring-fenced for spending on education at Welsh Government and local authority levels, ensuring that children and young people in Wales are not short-changed.'
It calls on NAHT's national executive to use its bargaining and lobbying strength to demand that all education consequentials received by the Welsh Government are spent transparently and equitably across Wales.
The motion is seconded by Rebecca Penn, headteacher at Charles Williams Church in Wales Primary School in Caerleon.
Laura Doel, NAHT Cymru's national secretary, said: 'At a time when schools are contemplating deficit budgets, cutting pupil spending, and making staff redundant, they deserve answers from the Welsh Government about the destination of this extra funding.
'Without transparency, there will inevitably be suspicions that this money is not reaching schools. If that is the case, it will be even harder for schools to provide the education children deserve.'
Another motion, proposed by Kerina Hanson, NAHT Cymru's vice president and headteacher at Pennard Primary School near Swansea, calls for the union to campaign for the reintroduction of the Small and Rural Schools Grant.
The motion states: 'Small and rural schools are an integral part of the education system in Wales. For many communities across the nation, the school is the heart of that town or village.
'The Welsh Government's Community Schools Initiative sits at odds with the reality that small and rural schools are not fairly funded or valued.'
It argues that restoring the grant would help ensure small schools are properly supported during discussions about school reorganisation, prioritising the educational experience of learners.
A third motion, proposed by NAHT Cymru president Dafydd Jones, headteacher at Ysgol Melyd in Prestatyn, urges the union's executive to lobby the Welsh Government to fully implement the 26 recommendations made by the Independent Welsh Pay Review Body last year.
So far, only seven recommendations have been actioned, with key measures – including protected leave for school leaders and better pay and non-contact time for additional learning needs coordinators (ALNCOs) – still outstanding.
The motion also calls for a fit-for-purpose school improvement service, maximising frontline funding and learner impact, following the Welsh Government's commitment to review the middle tier consortia, which it describes as 'overly bureaucratic.'
NAHT's conference will take place on Friday 2 May and Saturday 3 May.