Bromley Labour Group has expressed serious concerns over a decision by Bromley Council’s Executive to cut school budgets across the borough.
The plans, also opposed by schools across Bromley, would cut £5,000 from every primary school in Bromley, and £20,000 from every secondary school in April 2025, with the money going to fund the High Needs block for SEND pupils instead.
Additionally, the council plans to cut the budget for Alternative Provision (used for pupils outside mainstream education) by up to £300,000 a year, which schools’ representatives opposed and warned would lead to further rises in the number of permanent exclusions and “the decimation of outreach provision” in Bromley.
Bromley Labour Cllr Rebecca Wiffen said: “We urge parents and students to contact their local Councillors, urging them to rethink these cuts to school budgets. While we agree SEND provision is facing a crisis these cuts are not the right solution. Schools cannot afford to have to make cuts of thousands of pounds next April, and we do not want the education of young people to suffer. We will continue to urge the Conservatives to rethink their plan.”
Students and parents have already begun contacting us about the impact these cuts will have on their schools. Patrick said: “I’m a student at Hayes School and I’m deeply concerned at the news of budget cuts for schools around Bromley. My education is very important to me and I’m greatly dissatisfied to learn that the council are disregarding education as a priority for improvement, but instead, the opposite.”
The council says that the cuts are to reduce the deficit in the Council’s ‘Dedicated Schools Grant’, the so-called ‘Disapplication’.
At Thursday’s Schools Forum meeting, representatives from schools across Bromley overwhelmingly voted against both proposals, with one representative saying the High Needs block had “not been managed well” by Bromley Council, that these proposals were “papering over the cracks” and that schools would “really feel that loss of cash”.
As the Schools Forum has voted against, the Council will now need to decide whether to apply to the Department for Education to push ahead with the plans regardless. Labour Councillors oppose the Council’s proposals and will be urging the Executive to listen and respect the concerns raised by headteachers from across the borough.
