00:02With the 2026 school year winding up and the new one less than five months away, teachers
00:09and families are already looking ahead. But a picture of the public system in 2027 is
00:15still coming into focus.
00:17They've got lots of questions. They want to be able to see how their school compares
00:22across the system. What are the funding differences? Why are some schools getting more money than
00:27others? A new funding model taking effect next year aims to address overspending and redistribute
00:33existing resources according to student need. So far the education directorates only provided
00:40principals with their indicative 2027 allocation, not a final budget. But the draft alone has
00:47proved problematic, showing at least 18 schools face significant reductions compared to their
00:52expected 2026 spend. But it's not really clear in the information that's been published
00:59that the funding is going where it is most needed. I recognise that that conversation's been really
01:06difficult and that communication probably could have been better. The directorate says it's working
01:11through practical adjustments with individual schools. Looking at their timetabling, class compositions,
01:17looking at a whole range of their staffing structures in schools and looking at where there are
01:23opportunities for efficiencies and streamlining. And promising certainty for specialist schools.
01:29Specialist school budgets are not being reduced. In the meantime the education union continues to
01:35negotiate with the government on a new enterprise agreement with a two-hour stop work meeting scheduled for tomorrow morning.
