Four out of five headteachers have been forced to cut back on teaching assistants due to lack of funds, says union

Exclusive: ‘It is very demeaning and humiliating that vulnerable students have to go with a metaphorical begging bowl to get the support that they are entitled to’

More than eight in 10 school leaders say the additional needs of children has led to significant financial pressure on their school at a time when they are already struggling to make ends meets (Getty/iStock)

Four out of five headteachers have been forced to cut back on teaching assistants due to a squeeze on funding, according to a school leaders’ union.

Schools are increasingly having to cut vital resources for pupils amid funding pressures, with almost half of headteachers saying they had to reduce non-education support to balance their budgets.

Decisions to cut teaching assistants and support services will damage the education of the most vulnerable learners and will lead to a rise in behavioural difficulties in the classroom, heads argue.

The new findings from the National Association of Head Teachers, shared exclusively with The Independent, come as schools anxiously wait to hear whether they will receive any more funding in next week’s Spring Statement.

More than eight in 10 school leaders, who have been setting their budgets this term, say the additional needs of children has led to significant financial pressure on their school at a time when they are already struggling to make ends meets.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds deflected concerns about funding in the House of Commons in January when he said schools had more money “than ever before in the history of the country”.

But headteachers say the funding pot is not big enough to cover increasing cost pressures that schools face, as well as a growing number of pupils with complex additional needs.

Cuts to health and social care are also placing additional pressure on schools who want to ensure the wellbeing of their students is safeguarded.

“Schools are at breaking point and we need some substantial additional investment,” Valentine Mulholland, head of policy at NAHT, said. “We are absolutely pared back to the bone.”

The Education Secretary claimed schools have more money 'than ever before in the history of the country' (PA)

The NAHT survey, which received almost 600 responses from school leaders, found that 80 per cent have reduced the number, or hours, of teaching assistants – and 47 per cent had reduced non-educational support and services for children.

This reduction in direct support comes as class sizes are getting larger. This week unions revealed that two-thirds of secondary schools in England have increased the size of their classes in two years.

The cuts in additional support is leading to “frustration and disengagement” among vulnerable children, which affects their learning and translates into issues with behaviour in class, Ms Mulholland adds.

And headteachers are concerned about the long-impact on vulnerable children. Marijke Miles, acting head of Baycroft school, a special needs secondary in Hampshire, called the cuts “short-sighted”.

She said: “The underfunding is directly limiting the achievement of children. Those youngsters may well have been able to have moved on to a point of being self-sufficient and independent – and they may not have needed benefits, care packages and other support in adult life – but now they are trapped into that ongoing cost for the rest of their lives.

“Our most vulnerable students have had so much dignity stripped from them already and so much challenge to overcome, so it is very demeaning and humiliating that they have to go with a metaphorical begging bowl to get the services and support that they are entitled to, but which aren’t being provided, when the system is creaking because it is underfunded.”

Ms Miles added: “That legacy can last a lifetime ... it sets up a lifelong expectation and reduces their aspirations and it is very harmful for their wellbeing.”

And headteachers warn that the situation is even worse in special schools where funding is being cut back – yet the number of children being admitted to these schools is on the rise.

Sabrina Hobbs, principal of Sevendale Academy, a special school in Shrewsbury, has seen a 20 per cent increase in students with moderate learning difficulties in the last five years.

The school – which never used to provide SATs or GCSEs – now has to pay for exam provision.

“We are all feeling the pressures of having to cater for this group that we never used to cater for. So our provisions are being stretched to the max,” Ms Hobbs said.

Angela Rayner MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Education, said: “The Conservatives are failing to give schools and pupils the resources they need, with £2.8bn lost from school budgets since 2015, causing the most vulnerable students to lose out on the support they need.

“The Chancellor simply cannot afford to do nothing in next week’s Spring Statement. He urgently needs to give both schools and local councils the resources they need to support every child.

“He should meet Labour’s commitment to reverse the cuts to school funding, and increase per pupil funding in real terms.”

Layla Moran, Liberal Democrat education spokesperson, said: “A society is measured by how it treats its most vulnerable. The fact that schools are now having to make cuts to services which protect vulnerable pupils is a shocking indictment on this heartless Tory Government.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Thanks to an additional £1.3bn investment by this government, core schools and high needs funding has been protected in real terms per pupil and will rise to £43.5bn in 2019-20.

“Under the national funding formula, we’re continuing to provide £5.9bn each year to help schools support pupils with additional needs.

“Schools can receive further support from their local authority, who have the freedom to work with schools in their area and direct funds to where they are most needed.”