Gloucestershire heads fear 'catastrophic impact' over cuts plan

Teachers said the proposals would have a "catastrophic impact" on school budgets

Head teachers have written to the government, warning last minute cuts planned by a county council would cause a "catastrophic impact".

Gloucestershire County Council faces a £3.2m overspend in its high needs budget and a £1.3m shortfall in main schools funding.

It said plans, including using money earmarked for special needs, would not lead to a "reduction in spend".

A group of head teachers said it would lead to a funding shortfall.

The proposals include:

• Taking money from the main school funding budget to put into the separate special needs fund

• Reducing the amount of special needs funding schools get for pupils

• Reducing the general funding schools get, per pupil, from the government

In a letter to the Department for Education, the Gloucestershire Association of Secondary Headteachers (GASH) said "such last minute cuts to every academy and school" would cause a "catastrophic impact".

It said it would lead to a funding shortfall of around £200,000 for some of the larger schools in the county.

'Rapid decline'

A statement added the impact could include the removal of specialist support for pupils with special educational needs (SEN) within the classroom and a reduction in the number of teachers, leading to increased class sizes.

"All of this will simply place more pressure and a further burden on the areas that are currently overspent, and create a spiral of rapid decline," the letter continued.

Conservative councillor, Richard Boyles, denied that the proposals will "result in a reduction in support or spend for individual children".

"We have a grant from central government. This isn't county council money.

"We don't have any revenue raising schemes in Gloucestershire for schools funding.

"We need more money into our schools. That is the bottom line."

The Department for Education said it had already increased funding for schools in the county to £351m from £340m last year.

"We expect Gloucestershire County Council to take account of local circumstances when money is being allocated," a spokesman said.