Teacher job cuts could hit 200, warns Swansea governor

A SCHOOL governor has warned twice as many teachers than predicted could lose their jobs when Swansea Council slashes its education budget this year.

After yesterday's revelation that up to 100 teachers could lose their jobs in the next year due to budget cuts at Swansea Council, a school governor told the Post the figure could rise to 200.

However, Swansea Council has described that figure as "extreme", claiming it will be closer to 60.

But the school governor said: "If the figures are right we will lose £75,000 from our budget.

"We are losing two teachers, so with almost 100 schools in Swansea, we are talking about 200 teachers. It is disgusting."

When Swansea Council unveils its budget later this month, the money allocated to education is expected to be slashed by £5.6 million, with £4.5 million being taken out of school finances.

The move is expected to force schools to make teachers redundant as they seek to make ends meet.

John Radford, who chairs the Swansea Secondary Headteachers Association (SCCASH), told the Post the impact would be worst for the vulnerable children in city schools.

He said: "Head teachers are working closely with primary colleagues to assess the impact of the proposed cuts to school budgets. Heads recognise the pressure on the local authority, but cannot distance these cuts from the quality of teaching and learning received in schools in the City and County of Swansea.

"The proposed cuts will lead to children in primary and secondary schools being disadvantaged, particularly those most vulnerable children.

"It will be difficult to predict the extent of teacher cuts at this moment, but with a proposed settlement of -0.9 per cent and with the fact that 85 per cent of school costs arise from staffing costs, cuts will inevitably lead to teachers losing their jobs."

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Union bosses have also slammed the decision to cut the cash going into education. David Evans, Welsh secretary of the NUT, said: "Schools are cut to the bone as it is. They have to look at savings in another way. That cannot be a situation that is acceptable to councillors, parents and teachers in Swansea."

A council spokesman said: "The figure of 200 teacher redundancies is extreme.

"On the basis of the projected budget, planning work with head teachers and predicted early retirements, we would anticipate the figure is closer to 60."

alex.brown@swwmedia.co.uk

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