Liverpool headteachers warn schools ‘at breaking point’ as Labour conference arrives in city

Heads in the city have signed an open letter to Rachel Reeves, calling on her to restore "the achievements of the last Labour government".

Transcript

00:00Liverpool headteachers have told the Chancellor their schools were at breaking point as Labour

00:04delegates descend upon the city for the party's annual conference.

00:09Heads in the city have signed an open letter to Rachel Reeves, calling on her to restore

00:13the achievements of the last Labour government.

00:16The letter, signed by 29 local headteachers, claims Liverpool schools have lost £52.3

00:22million in real terms since 2010, and 86% of the city's schools have faced losses.

00:29The Department of Education spokesperson said the government does not recognise the figures

00:33quoted.

00:35Research by the Stop School Cuts Coalition, which is run by teaching unions at NEU, the Association

00:41of School and College Leaders and School Leaders Union, found earlier this month that seven in

00:46ten schools in England have seen real-term cuts to their budgets since 2010.

00:52The letter warns last money means cuts to subjects, teachers and resources.

00:57School spending per pupil grew 11% in real terms from 2019 to 2025, according to the Institute

01:04for Fiscal Studies.

01:05This growth was enough to preserve the real-term cuts and take spending back to 2010 levels.

01:11However, the IFS said almost half of this growth can be explained by spiralling spending on high

01:17needs, and the actual growth in mainstream school funding over the time is estimated to

01:22be around 5%.

01:23A Department of Education spokesperson said, despite our tough fiscal inheritance, this

01:28government has protected key education priorities through our plan for change.

01:32We are putting a further £3.7 billion into schools' budgets, including increasing pupil premium

01:38to over £3 billion for 2025-26 to provide additional support for those children that need it most.

01:44So this goes up to 5,000,000.

01:46So this makes us conoce, think, over 10.5 million years of working for them to get a little

01:48Moe, give us a good amount of our work.

01:49So that's what we've done.

01:50So this would be a good idea, to improve to the people before we get a little bit of our

01:52connection between theen so I can't wait, we've had the ability of the person to

01:53work, to be able to work and that's it.

01:54Well, I think it needs some talent for them to volunteer in the future.

01:55I think there's some talent for them to help.

01:57I think there's a good skill, that's it.

01:57Right.

01:58Well, I think there's a good skill, that's why I think it needs to be a good

02:01really pretty good.

02:02There's a good skill, that is difficult to Fish and señor who has done, I think,