Parents and teachers in Kent and Sussex caution that funding, payment, and increasing school expectations will challenge the next government’s education policies. Many factors, this time around, often influence elections, and education has been a significant element in the campaigns.
According to Ben Hulme, executive head teacher of St. Paul’s Church England Primary School in Swanley, Kent, one of the biggest issues is financing, which affects staffing and the school’s capacity to assist students and their families. The other agencies that may have done so well in the past “just aren’t there anymore,” he stated.
Also, the legacy of Covid has had an impact. During the pandemic, James Johnson, a teacher, remembers teaching students how to use a knife and fork when they return from their home study sessions.
St Paul’s attendance has recovered to the pre-pandemic levels, but the persistent absences have negatively impacted the educational systems, teachers’ strikes, and the need for more funding.
According to Mr. Johnson, budgets are the scariest thing, and we can’t afford it, so the answer is usually no now. Mr. Hulme thinks that if everything else falls into place, we can get education right.
David and Karen Fox’s 13-year-old son with autism has received his education at home in Polegate, Sussex since he finished elementary school. They claimed that because of his special needs, he found going to school traumatic. According to Ms. Fox, loads of children with special needs are receiving their education at home because school is not the right environment for them.
Referring to it as a “battle” field, Ms. F acknowledged that there was awareness that the system was broken. Still, she felt that there was insufficient knowledge about how much funding is required to build special schools or equip current schools with special SEND resources.
According to an East Sussex Country Council representative, “the council works with parents and carers to find an education that can meet their needs and provide them with the opportunity to achieve the best possible results.”
He added that “for many children and young people with SEND, being able to remain with their peers at their local mainstream school with additional support is best for their results, even though special schools are the most appropriate schools for some.” Compared to other local authorities in the South East, we have created a disproportionately high number of special schools in recent years.”
We have invested in facilities connected to mainstream schools and are still reviewing the specialized instruction we provide. Students at the University of Brighton say they have to work an additional job in addition to their full-time studies.
Although tuition hasn’t changed in almost a decade, the institution claims that due to inflation, each charge is now actually worth £6,000. The university’s costs are rising pension due to rising pension energy prices and pension contributions.
It has consolidated facilities in Brighton, abandoned premises in Hastings and Eastbourne, and laid off some employees, a move that its vice-chancellor claimed was common to the industry.
According to Prof. Debra Humphris, “students, staff, or institutions” are not benefiting from the current funding arrangement that supports colleges. She wants a strategic higher education plan outlining the path the government wants higher education to take to fulfill its social responsibility.
