Agenda item

5.1

It was moved by Councillor Jayne Dunn, and seconded by Councillor Mike Drabble, that this Council:-

(a)       contends that due to eight years of prolonged and unnecessary austerity, funding for the education system is no longer sufficient and Sheffield schools are disproportionality bearing the brunt of this;

(b)       notes that whilst the Government are finally providing an increase in much needed funding, the combination of eight years of standstill budgets and decisions around national insurance, funding of pay increases, etc. mean that schools have seen their budgets cut by an incredible 30% or more in real terms over this period;

(c)        notes that the Government have implemented a national funding formula in an attempt to readdress the balance, but in actuality the funding changes will mean that Sheffield schools will be worse off by £12.1m this year and £5.7m next year – a cut equivalent to £170 per pupil in 2018/19 and £80 per pupil in 2019/20;

(d)       contends that despite the Government’s rhetoric of “fairness”, regional imbalances remain in the current system, for instance, an average sized secondary school in Sheffield would receive £822,000 more each year if it was situated in Manchester;

(e)       believes there is insufficient funding nationally in the school system and, despite the best efforts of teachers and parents, such inadequate funding will inevitably see the continued depletion of resources from our schools, and shows that not enough is being done to address the historical imbalance in the funding allocation for Sheffield schools;

(f)        believes that school funding does not need to be like this and notes that a Labour government would give our schools the resources they need; by reversing funding cuts and increasing the schools budget in real terms, to build a National Education Service that allows every child to fulfil their potential;

(g)       contends further that it is possible to stop the cuts and ensure all schools have the funding they need, and that to do so it would cost an estimated £5.66 billion across the UK by 2022 and the Labour Party’s fully costed 2017 General Election manifesto demonstrated how this could be paid for;

(h)       notes that the Administration is working closely with representatives, parents, teachers and unions from across Sheffield’s schools and together a united and strong opposition to the changes has emerged;

(i)         highlights that this Administration has written to the Secretary of State for Education demanding a fair settlement for Sheffield schools, and further notes that Labour councillors will continue to campaign and challenge the Government for a fair funding settlement for the city’s schools;

(j)         notes the wide-ranging campaign demanding better for Sheffield schools, including the recently launched public petition, co-authored by Learn Sheffield and this Administration, to put pressure on the Government; and

(k)        believes that schools are proud of Sheffield’s education community and the collaborative way it is approaching this, when the Government is doing everything to encourage division and set schools against each other.

5.2

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Mohammed Mahroof, seconded by Councillor Andrew Sangar, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.         the deletion of paragraph (a) and the re-lettering of original paragraphs (b) to (d) as new paragraphs (a) to (c).

2.         the addition of a new paragraph (d) as follows:-

(d)       is shocked and dismayed that under the new funding formula for schools, every pupil in Sheffield will have £743 less invested in their education than their peers in Manchester and refuses to believe that is the ‘fairer’ system the Conservative Government promised;

3.         the deletion of original paragraphs (f) and (g).

4.         the addition of a new paragraph (f) as follows:-

(f)        believes that every child deserves a high quality education wherever they live and notes a Liberal Democrat government will do this by investing £7 billion extra in children’s education, so that no school loses money per pupil in cash terms, and notes that with this fully costed investment, a Liberal Democrat government will:-

(i)         reverse all cuts to frontline school and college budgets, protecting per pupil funding in real terms;

(ii)        introduce a fairer National Funding System with a protection for all schools, so that no school loses money per pupil in cash terms; and

(iii)       protect the Pupil Premium which targets extra help at disadvantaged pupils;

5.         the re-lettering of original paragraph (h) as a new paragraph (g).

6.         the deletion of original paragraphs (i) and (j).

7.         the addition of new paragraphs (h) and (i) as follows:-

(h)       notes the wide-ranging campaign supported by the Sheffield Star and Sheffield Telegraph demanding better for Sheffield schools, including the recently launched public petition, co-authored by Learn Sheffield and the Council, to put pressure on the Government;

(i)         notes that Liberal Democrat councillors support the petition and will be encouraging citizens of Sheffield to sign it and support the campaign,

8.         the re-lettering of original paragraph (k) as a new paragraph (j).

9.         the addition of new paragraphs (k) and (l) as follows:-

(k)        notes that Liberal Democrats attended the inaugural meeting of the Sheffield Education Alliance, a non-partisan group set up to campaign for the improvement and funding of education for all Sheffield children; and

(l)         calls for a cross-party campaign working with the Sheffield Education Alliance, Learn Sheffield and the Administration to demand the Government addresses the funding disparity and ensure schools are funded fairly in Sheffield.

5.3

It was then moved by Councillor Alison Teal, seconded by Councillor Douglas Johnson, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of paragraphs (h) to (k) and the addition of new paragraphs (h) to (o) as follows:-

(h)       believes the issue of education has frequently suffered from decisions being made on ideological grounds rather than evidence;

(i)         notes the academies programme has introduced free market principles of competition into the education ‘market place’ and is placing increasing difficulty on local authorities;

(j)         believes that the growing lack of transparency and public accountability brought about by the academisation process is eroding local councils’ ability to influence and work with local education providers;

(k)        notes the Education Act of 1870 required the state to provide a school place for every child and these were managed by democratically elected local bodies; 

(l)         believes that handing over large sums of public money to a small group of individuals, despite some oversight from central government, will lead to increasingly inequitable educational opportunities and sub-optimal use of public funding; 

(m)      notes that, while academies are prohibited from making profits, we are witnessing the transfer of public money and loss of public scrutiny and control of local education to private ownership; 

(n)       believes that the academisation process is already failing Sheffield children as the exclusion rate has greatly increased and the continual backlog of assessment to be done for SEND children means that many children are not receiving the support they need; and

(o)       therefore asks that the Council makes every effort to resist the academisation process and retain all the schools it possibly can under democratic local authority control.

5.4

After contributions from five other Members, and following a right of reply from Councillor Jayne Dunn, the amendment moved by Councillor Mohammed Mahroof was put to the vote and was negatived.

5.4.1

(NOTE: Councillors Kaltum Rivers, Douglas Johnson, Robert Murphy, Martin Phipps and Alison Teal voted for paragraph (h) of part 7 and paragraph (l) of part 9 of the amendment, and abstained on all other parts/paragraphs of the amendment, and asked for this to be recorded.)

5.5

The amendment moved by Councillor Alison Teal was then put to the vote and was also negatived.

5.6

The original Motion was then put to the vote and carried as follows:-

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)       contends that due to eight years of prolonged and unnecessary austerity, funding for the education system is no longer sufficient and Sheffield schools are disproportionality bearing the brunt of this;

(b)       notes that whilst the Government are finally providing an increase in much needed funding, the combination of eight years of standstill budgets and decisions around national insurance, funding of pay increases, etc. mean that schools have seen their budgets cut by an incredible 30% or more in real terms over this period;

(c)        notes that the Government have implemented a national funding formula in an attempt to readdress the balance, but in actuality the funding changes will mean that Sheffield schools will be worse off by £12.1m this year and £5.7m next year – a cut equivalent to £170 per pupil in 2018/19 and £80 per pupil in 2019/20;

(d)       contends that despite the Government’s rhetoric of “fairness”, regional imbalances remain in the current system, for instance, an average sized secondary school in Sheffield would receive £822,000 more each year if it was situated in Manchester;

(e)       believes there is insufficient funding nationally in the school system and, despite the best efforts of teachers and parents, such inadequate funding will inevitably see the continued depletion of resources from our schools, and shows that not enough is being done to address the historical imbalance in the funding allocation for Sheffield schools;

(f)        believes that school funding does not need to be like this and notes that a Labour government would give our schools the resources they need; by reversing funding cuts and increasing the schools budget in real terms, to build a National Education Service that allows every child to fulfil their potential;

(g)       contends further that it is possible to stop the cuts and ensure all schools have the funding they need, and that to do so it would cost an estimated £5.66 billion across the UK by 2022 and the Labour Party’s fully costed 2017 General Election manifesto demonstrated how this could be paid for;

(h)       notes that the Administration is working closely with representatives, parents, teachers and unions from across Sheffield’s schools and together a united and strong opposition to the changes has emerged;

(i)         highlights that this Administration has written to the Secretary of State for Education demanding a fair settlement for Sheffield schools, and further notes that Labour councillors will continue to campaign and challenge the Government for a fair funding settlement for the city’s schools;

(j)         notes the wide-ranging campaign demanding better for Sheffield schools, including the recently launched public petition, co-authored by Learn Sheffield and this Administration, to put pressure on the Government; and

(k)        believes that schools are proud of Sheffield’s education community and the collaborative way it is approaching this, when the Government is doing everything to encourage division and set schools against each other.

5.6.1

(NOTE: 1. Councillors Simon Clement-Jones, Bob Pullin, Richard Shaw, Adam Hanrahan, Mohammed Mahroof, Joe Otten, Martin Smith, Roger Davison, Shaffaq Mohammed, Paul Scriven, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Sue Auckland, Steve Ayris, Gail Smith, David Baker, Penny Baker, Vickie Priestley and Mike Levery voted for paragraphs (c), (d), (e), (h), (j) and (k), and against paragraphs (a), (b), (f), (g) and (i) of the Motion, and asked for this to be recorded;

2. Councillors Kaltum Rivers, Douglas Johnson, Robert Murphy, Martin Phipps and Alison Teal voted for paragraphs (a), (e) and (j) and abstained from voting on paragraphs (b) to (d), (f) to (i) and (k) of the Motion, and asked for this to be recorded; and

3. Councillors Jack Clarkson and John Booker voted for paragraphs (a) to (g), (i) and (j), and against paragraphs (h) and (k) of the Motion, and asked for this to be recorded.)