Responding to the announcement of the Welsh Government's draft budget for 2024/25, NAHT Cymru National Secretary Laura Doel said: “The Welsh budget is £1.3bn less in real terms since it was set in 2021, and more than a decade of austerity at the hands of a UK Government has crippled the public sector.

“Today’s announcement sees a significant shift in prioritising education spending in primary, secondary and special schools, simplifying funding mechanisms to ensure as much money as possible goes to local authorities to spend on frontline delivery.  News that key funding streams like the RRRs (the Recruit, Recover, Raise Standards: Accelerating Learning Programme grant) and the Pupil Deprivation Grant are being protected will come as a relief to schools.

“Workload negotiations as a result of NAHT’s industrial action have resulted in the removal of some of the unnecessary bureaucracy surrounding grants. The decision to amalgamate the pre-16 education grant funding to allow greater flexibility for local authorities to spend education money where it is most needed, sends a clear signal to the profession that the government has listened and responded to school leaders’ calls.”

Responding specifically to the pressures on local government given that schools get their core budgets directly from local authorities, Ms Doel has a stark message for the employers.

“While we understand the financial context and appreciate the safeguards put in place by the Welsh Government, it is now down to local authorities to ensure that the protection to local government core contributions to the tune of £5.7bn has a positive impact on schools’ core funding," she said.

“Local authorities are already predicting cuts to school budgets of up to 10% in some areas and we have grave concerns that this will place an unprecedented strain on the system.

“Failure to invest further in education will have a crippling impact on schools’ ability to deliver for pupils, with schools already making redundancies based on current finances. Making further cuts to school budgets will have devastating consequences for a generation of young people.

“Challenges around additional learning needs (ALN) delivery, attendance, pupil behaviour and improving outcomes for pupils can be overcome if schools are supported financially.

“If we are serious about transforming education, politicians and public services need to think seriously about how we spend the money we have. That means investing it where it offers the greatest benefit to children – in the leaders and teachers in our schools. This must mean an end to any further reforms, such as changing the school year, until we have a grip on the funding crisis facing education.

“As campaigners for the protection of education, we will do everything in our power to ensure our schools are not short-changed.”