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Hard-pressed schools are pulling out the stops to support pupils and their families during the cost of living crisis – despite an increasing squeeze on budgets.
The cocktail of pressures being faced by schools has been highlighted in a survey to mark the second annual National School Governors’ Awareness Day, to be held on Tuesday 28 February.
More than half of the governors (53%) polled by event organisers Strictly Education said there had been an increase in the number of pupils arriving at school hungry.
A similar proportion (51%) had seen parents becoming increasingly unable to afford school uniform and appropriate footwear for their children.
Governors said they have seen a range of other economic impacts on their school community, including more families being unable to afford school meals, and increased anxiety in children.
And despite growing pressure on school budgets – driven by reductions in real-terms funding, unfunded teacher pay rises and rising energy bills – 56% of respondents said their schools had put in place additional measures to reduce the impact of the cost of living crisis on their families. Measures included opening a community shed to provide food and other household items, coat banks, increasing breakfast club numbers and referring more families to social care.
Governors said cuts were being made in a range of areas to tackle the budget squeeze. The most common measures were reducing the number of teaching and classroom assistants, cutting back on school trips and other enrichment activities and reducing hours of support staff.
The survey questioned more than 300 school governors across England during February 2023. The full findings will be discussed at the second National School Governors’ Awareness Day, a free online event on 28 February, organised by Strictly Education.
The event will provide a forum for current and aspiring governors to deepen their knowledge of the true impact of the cost-of-living crisis in school communities and reflect on strategies to help families. With session topics including how to spot the signs of cost-of-living anxiety in pupils and improving the prospects for disadvantaged young people.
Steve Barker, head of governance services at Strictly Education and a governor with more than 30 years’ experience, said:
“What is heartening is the extent to which school governors and leadership teams are working together to try as hard as they can to alleviate some of these pressures through a range of community initiatives. All this is happening at a time when they are having to consider significant cost savings.”
Details of the National School Governors Awareness Day programme are available here or by signing up to the National School Governors’ Awareness Day. Twitter feed at @SchoolGovDay.
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