News / Bristol
‘Funding cuts are the biggest issue facing Bristol schools’
Bristol appears to be bucking the trend in the midst of a national teacher recruitment ‘crisis’ – but do the figures paint the full picture?
A recent nationwide study examining correlations between vacancies in schools and areas of deprivation showed the city as the second most improved authority – reducing the number of advertised full time posts from 22 in 2010 to just five in 2016.
But campaigners are not convinced the data is something to celebrate and suggest that many of the issues facing education in Bristol – principally cuts to funding – remain largely hidden and therefore a greater danger.
is needed now More than ever
Earlier this year, the House of Commons Education Selection Committee published a report into the recruitment and retention of teachers.
Martin Thompson, of the National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers told the committee: “Recruitment has been a challenge for probably a number of years, and for three years an increasing challenge, and certainly now I think it is a crisis in some areas.”
This prompted a BBC investigation to examine whether the recruitment crisis is getting worse and whether this is hitting schools in poorer areas harder.
A strong correlation between deprivation levels and teacher vacancies was found in primary schools in England, as was a link between poverty and temporary-filled secondary school posts. No relationship between secondary schools and deprivation indices was detected.
Map showing indices of deprivation across Bristol in 2010 and 2015
Bristol, with a comparatively low number of vacancies across the board, appears to be bucking the trend despite having more than 85,000 people living in the most deprived 10 per cent nationally for education, skills and training, according to the latest report.
Christine Townsend says data does not paint the full picture
But education campaigner and school governor Christine Townsend says the city is something of a paradox as it is highly sought after as a place to live in, thus attracting teachers to fill job vacancies, but that children in areas of deprivation still bear the brunt of funding cuts.
There are also those schools that do not advertise positions when teachers leave because they do not have the budget to do so.
“It’s about what’s going on under the surface,” says Townsend. “Just saying that Bristol is thriving does not paint the full picture. The politicians will focus on a macro level and compare us to other local authorities, but it’s all relative and we want to go up not down.
“The fact is that results in our secondary schools have plateaued. The groups of children that have never done well are still struggling. The children from deprived areas will be the first hit and the ones that are hit the worst when there is a down turn.”
She argued that cuts to education funding is the biggest issue facing schools and, as a governor, one of her biggest concerns is that those who just managed to balance budgets this year will have to lost teaching staff if further cuts go ahead.
Townsend mentioned primary schools in Bristol sharing a head teacher because positions have been vacated and not re-filled.
Speaking at a meeting in Easton earlier this year, the head of City Academy Jon Angell painted a stark picture of how cuts are already hitting post-16 education and said “The most vulnerable families and students are coming to my school and we are not being given the provision to meet their needs.”
This week, he told Bristol24/7 that the academy follows the trend of secondary schools across the country and currently has no teaching vacancies, having advertised for three jobs last year, had strong fields and appointed candidates.
Thousands marched through the streets of Bristol in May to protest against cuts to school budgets
Commenting on the national situation, Chris Keates, of the teachers’ union, NASUWT said teacher vacancy rates are high as a result of the escalating recruitment and retention crisis which, he says, is being fuelled primarily by excessive workload and year-on-year cuts to teachers’ pay.
“This is making the job unsustainable for existing teachers and unattractive for prospective new recruits,” said Keates.
“Failing to ensure that all schools invest in qualified teachers will widen inequality and further reduce the life chances of the pupils from the poorest backgrounds.”
He said a key priority must be to ensure that teaching becomes, once again, the profession of choice for graduates which will require investment.
A Department for Education spokesman claimed there are now more teachers in our schools than ever before and 15,500 more since 2010.
He added: “We take teacher recruitment very seriously with a significant programme designed to encourage more good graduates to choose teaching as a career.
“We are also working closely with schools to understand why particular areas of the country face greater challenges in recruiting teachers than other areas.”
Read more: Rally against ‘criminal’ cuts to Bristol’s schools
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