Responding to comments by Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman at the Wellington Festival of Education that treating schools as the solution to everything puts education at risk, James Bowen, assistant general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“We agree that it isn’t helpful to overload schools and place limitless demands upon them. School staff are increasingly having to act as not only teachers but also social workers and counsellors, with the cost of living crisis biting and families struggling to access support including specialist mental health services for their children.

“The legacy of the pandemic is still being felt, not only in issues like reduced attendance at schools, but also in terms of lost learning, with the subsidy for additional tutoring to help pupils who need to catch up due to be cut in the autumn.

“Schools are doing an incredible job in challenging circumstances, but we need to see significant new investment from the government, not only in education but also in crucial frontline services like CAMHS and children’s social care which have been under-funded for many years.”