Government admits schools’ budgets will not rise in real terms

14.12.2010

Schools will no longer see the promised real terms increase to their budgets, LapSafe® Products has learned today.

The Chancellor, George Osborne, announced a 0.1% boost for schools above inflation back in October, as part of his Comprehensive Spending Review – a change dubbed ‘a rabbit out of the hat’ by commentators. Today, changes to the official inflation forecast, announced by the Office for Budget Responsibility, mean that there will not be a real rise.

Teachers will now have to wait until at least 2015 to see a meaningful increase to their budgets.

This means that the Government’s flagship pupil premium, £430 worth of funding for every child eligible for free school meals, will not, in real terms, mean extra money for schools. The pupil premium had been considered to be one of the most significant concessions won by the Liberal Democrats in the coalition agreement and will be worth £2.5bn by 2014-15.

Nick Gibbs, the schools minister, said that spending totals were based on the best forecast of inflation at the time and were always subject to change.

Commenting on the revised forecasts, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: “We now see that the pupil premium is nothing but a conjurer's trick. The Government is simply moving money around the system. Not only is it not new money, but its pathetically low level means that the impact will be negligible.”

With inflation on the rise, schools will have to make careful decisions about how they spend their budgets to ensure that they get the best value for money. By investing in quality equipment that will last the test of time, schools can reduce the need for repeat purchases that can be costly. All Mentor™ laptop storage and charging trolleys are built to a superior quality and are among the most resilient products of their kind on the market.

Our unique patented modular system allows the trolleys to be updated as the needs of schools change, meaning headteachers do not need to invest in a new trolley when they alter their make of laptops.

*Source: The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian