Teaching assistant's desperate Budget plea as schools falling apart without cash

05 March 2024 , 18:10

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James Wilton works as a teaching assistant at a special needs school in Leeds (Image: ©Glen Minikin)

A teaching assistant has warned that schools are unable to give children the education they deserve because they have been starved of money.

James Wilton, 32, who works at a special needs school in Leeds, warned that Jeremy Hunt “does not have a clue”. “It’s just sad more than anything to see how bad things have become,” he said. “The one thing that gives me pride about the country is that children who have been dealt a bad hand, we look after them and invest in them. But it’s becoming much harder to do.

“It’s not just schools, it’s in the NHS, the fire service, the police service. You’ve got decent bobbies who want to look after the community and they cannot do that.”

Mr Wilton said that teaching staff are ground down because insufficient money is being invested in buildings. Part of the roof collapsed at the school where he works. “A lot of people are just battered. It’s a morale thing. If they’re coming into work and their schools are literally falling apart is it any wonder?” he asked.

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Mr Wilton, who is a GMB union rep, said that things have got worse since he started working as a teaching assistant 14 years ago just as the Tories got into power. “I have seen the difference between the two governments, at least there was funding for our local authorities,” he said. “We are now seeing councils getting sections 114 [bankruptcy notices]. I have got no words for it. It’s just a mess.”

“In the Budget, I want to see more funding for councils and at least an attempt to address the backlog [of children with special educational needs waiting for support].

“We have a SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) crisis in schools, we have a massive backlog and the result is that mainstream schools are getting more pupils in their classes who need extra support. We need more specialist provision being funded and built.”

Mr Hunt is threatening to bring back austerity in the Budget. The Chancellor is plotting cuts to the NHS, schools and council services to pay for tax cuts. He is expected to take 2p off National Insurance in a last ditch roll of the dice ahead of the general election.

John Stevens