Head teachers: 'We are facing a crisis at every turn'

Pupils say teachers are honest that they are leaving the profession over pay

A recruitment crisis, no cash for school trips or to fix broken furniture and spiralling costs to support SEND pupils.

These are just some of the stark realities facing leadership teams at state schools in the West who say they are "doing everything they can" to get by.

George Samios, head teacher at Twerton Infant School in Bath, told the BBC he fixes school furniture in his holidays and has had parents help construct classroom spaces.

Meanwhile Robert Pearsall, head teacher of Wellsway School in Keynsham said he has had just one person apply for a current teaching position.

Janet Moffet from Somerset was among the many people who got in touch with the BBC via Your Voice, Your Vote to tell us that education is the most important issue for them in this election.

She said she was "prioritising education" as a grandparent paying school fees.

"I’m furious as I’m a grandparent who pays for my grandchildren - I am not wealthy but want to give my grandchildren all I can," she said.

George Samios, head teacher at Twerton Infant School

Twerton Infant School is used to challenges.

At 59% - it has more than double the national average of children on free school meals.

It also has nearly double the average of children with specialist needs at 30%.

It was rated good by Ofsted in a 2023 inspection but head teacher Mr Samios said he has "many spinning plates".

He said: "It is a constant struggle, we are always spinning plates, we have had to halve our school trips because we can't afford the coach travel and fuel prices are high now so we have to make the most of our site - like with the forest school."

Chairs waiting for Mr Samios to fix

Mr Samios said he sometimes has to "get creative" to solve problems.

"Ten years ago we would get £26,000 to improve our buildings, this year it's £6,000 so we need to ask our parents if they can help - over a couple of weekends a dad and a grandparent built a new teaching space for us.

"When it comes to furniture, we can't afford to replace it so I repair it in my holidays.

"We have also lost around a fifth of our TAs [teaching assistants], excellent TAs that have gone on to different things where they can earn more money.

"So we're having to be creative and we have a partnership where we have some local sixth formers that come in each week and they listen to our children read," he said.

Robert Pearsall, head teacher of Wellsway School, is worried about recruitment

Mr Pearsall from Wellsway said the biggest challenge facing his sixth form college is recruitment.

His school was also rated as Good by Ofsted in 2019.

"The biggest challenge is getting teachers to actually apply for jobs," he said.

"Last week we interviewed for a physics teacher and we only had one applicant.

"Ten years ago you might have got ten maybe 15 teachers applying for that role but now it's ones and twos, particularly around science and maths - those core subjects," he said.

Unions say 30% of teachers are leaving the profession within the first five years.

"We are facing a crisis around recruitment and retention, we're facing a crisis around rising costs, budgets not increasing to the same rates in line with inflationary pressures and we're facing the challenge around supporting and helping children with SEND," Mr Pearsall added.

"That is one of the biggest priorities schools need help with."

Kevin Burnett from the National Association of Head Teachers said education is "heartbreaking" right now

Kevin Burnett, Bath and North East Somerset branch secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) said: "At this second in time, education is heart breaking."

Mr Burnett who was previously a head teacher, said education, health and social care used to work well together but that it has been broken by "years of austerity".

"We hear now school leaders giving their heart and soul to meet the needs of children in their care, with less to do it with.

"We see people on their knees and sadly the most experienced people are leaving and young people who come in, a third of them go within five years."

"Education is in a dire state, we're in a crisis," he said.

Mr Burnett said any politician must focus on fixing the crisis with SEND education, the retention and recruitment of teachers and school estates not being fit for purpose.

Josie says she was left without a psychology teacher

Josie, a Year 13 pupil at Wellsway School, said teachers leaving the profession has increased her stress levels, especially during exam season.

She said: "My psychology teacher left in February to go on maternity leave and she was quite transparent that they couldn't afford a cover.

"So that meant I lost one of my psychology teachers and in the peak of exams it was quite stressful to be set independent work when I wanted to speak out to a teacher over concerns.

"I also lost my history teacher last year as they went to Australia so it's been difficult, but teachers are open that the reason they're leaving is because they're not being paid enough or the schools don't have enough money."

Mr Pearsall said: "The challenge we face is we are running out of options in how we save money next.

"We've been really prudent for the last three years, we've been trying to avoid the impact of that in the classroom on the children but without more sustained investment in education long term we are facing a crisis."

George travels to another school to study one subject

George, another Wellsway School pupil, has to travel to another school to get tuition in one of his subjects.

He said: "It does mean a 15 minute trip to another school which is fine as it means I get to the subjects I want to do, but it's because of schools being underfunded that I'm not able to do it here and get access to the teachers - it is a bit annoying."

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How will different parties tackle the problems in education?

The Conservatives have said current pupil funding is just above the 2010 levels but in the next parliament they are promising to keep up with inflation. They say they will protect day-to-day school spending in real terms per pupil and that they will also ban phones in schools.

Labour has said it will add 20% VAT to private school fees, to pay for 6,500 extra teachers in England’s state schools as early as September. Sir Keir Starmer has said some children with special education needs who attend private schools will be exempt from his plans.

The Liberal Democrats want to give a better chance to disadvantaged pupils and students in England by tutoring children from low-income families who need extra help, and tripling the early years pupil premium - to £1,000. They also promise to increase school and college funding for each pupil above inflation every year.

The Green Party would scrap “high-stakes testing” in schools and abolish their regulator, Ofsted. And there is a pledge to boost funding for schools by £8bn, including £2bn for teachers’ pay.

To ease the pressures in schools, Reform UK is encouraging parents to send their children to independent schools with the promise of a 20% tax relief on fees. The party says it will double the numbers of pupil referral units and there will be permanent exclusions for violent and disruptive children.

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