Schools 'planning to cut staff'

About 40% of schools are planning to cut staff numbers in the next year, according to a survey of head teachers.

The poll by the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and The Times Educational Supplement (TES) showed nearly four in 10 schools were expecting head counts to fall as they battled to balance budgets.

NAHT general secretary Russell Hobby said the reduction in the number of staff was expected to continue for the next four years with the cuts being weighted towards support staff rather than teachers. But he added that parents would rightly worry about the effect of these cuts.

He explained: "They are right to have some concerns, these people doing valuable jobs in the system. Schools are surviving this year but I think we are in for a good few years of conditions being very, very tight."

The fall in staff numbers is expected to be achieved through a combination of redundancy and natural wastage.

Almost 1,500 heads and senior staff responded to the poll, which also revealed that 40% of schools were expecting a drop in their budgets.

Christine Blower, general secretary National Union of Teachers, said "This is yet another example of how hollow the Coalition Government's words are about protecting schools' budgets. Many schools are already working with very limited resources. These cuts are a further devastating blow to education services and schools".

A Department for Education spokesman said: "We're protecting the schools' budget in cash terms per pupil, introducing a pupil premium for disadvantaged pupils, and putting money directly into heads' hands.

"School budgets fluctuate every year as pupil numbers change so it is normal for some schools to get more, and for others to get less. In fact this survey shows that around 40% of schools expect to see an increase in funding.

"We are also consulting on how to reform the current schools' funding system, which is opaque and unfair. With the introduction of the pupil premium, and a new fairer funding system, we will ensure that schools get the money they require to meet the needs of pupils."