School budgets were protected from the reductions in government expenditure which were a stark necessity after the financial crisis and, to be fair, they had a pretty good run.
Now the Schools’ budget is at a record high, but the growth in pupil numbers recently has been rising faster, with the result that the expenditure per pupil has fallen.
Nevertheless, we still spend more per pupil than any other of the G7 leading nations, with the exception of USA, so more than Germany, France and Japan.
So clearly, when a headmistress tells the BBC that things are so bad that she is having to clean the school lavatories herself, we have to ask ourselves what is going wrong?
I asked exactly that question in the Commons when I raised the case with ministers.
I was surprised later to read that the headmistress in question had received a £10,000 pay rise last year, and that the School cleaning budget had doubled from £30,000 to nearly £60,000.
I do recall being equally surprised visiting a school, when I was met by the full-time ‘publicity officer’.
Sir Desmond Swayne TD
