Cuts and bruises

The recession continues to bite in the independent school sector, but how does it affect the common room? ATL carried out a survey of its members in October 2010 to gauge the effects. John Richardson reveals the results

ATL surveyed 1,365 members working as teachers, heads, bursars and support staff in independent schools on their pay and conditions and the health of their schools.

The critical indicator of a school’s strength is its pupil numbers. Forty-five per cent of ATL teaching staff says their school has more pupils this academic year, compared with 33 per cent in 2009, with 24 per cent saying they have fewer pupils and 27 per cent the same number.

This is a slightly rosier picture than last year. However, it needs to be borne in mind that pupils disperse after a school closure. Already this year, ATL has heard that 16 independent schools have closed. This compares with 20 in 2009, so the number of school closures is likely to be similar by the end of the academic year.

There has been little change from last year; the recession is causing difficulties, but the story is not the same for all. As ATL general secretary, Dr Mary Bousted, says: “The dichotomy between strong private schools which are competitive and the weaker ones is getting ever stronger. Regrettably, I don’t think we have come to the end of the closures.” Or as one teacher in the Midlands says: “(We were) on a knife-edge last year because of fewer students entering year 12. Parents keep their children at school until the end of GCSE, but try to get them into a local grammar school or comprehensive rather than pay for (the) sixth form.”

For some schools, their reputations and resources ensure that they are virtually bulletproof. But a lot of hard work is being done in many independent schools to combat the recession by economising and making the business leaner and more competitive. Among other things, members report that their schools are marketing themselves more aggressively, including overseas; many are holding fees down and others are offering more bursaries, scholarships or hardship grants. Capital build has slowed down or stopped.

Call a halt
Holding fee increases down is an obvious answer to maintain pupil numbers. A teacher in Surrey says: “Although we have lost some pupils, we have many more wanting to take up places as other schools have failed, or have put up their fees. Our fees are the lowest in our area; (we are) deliberately positioned that way.” 

Marketing and the use of scholarships has increased. Michael McKeown, a member of the school leadership team from Northern Ireland, says: “Our pupil numbers are up by 15 per cent on this time last year. We have undertaken more aggressive marketing and introduced scholarships for the first time.”

There is, however, a qualitative downside, as one teacher laments: “Other independent schools facing a reduction in numbers have been poaching pupils by lowering the pass level of their entrance exams.”

Mothball the cheque book
Reigning in spending is another obvious way to make savings. Nearly half (47.2 per cent) of teaching staff say their school cut its spending in the past academic year and nearly half (48 per cent) expect their school to spend less this year. However, just over a quarter (27 per cent) say their school didn’t cut its spending last year and more than a quarter (26 per cent) expect spending to hold up this year.

Despite the school closures, the survey does not reveal any significant changes over the past year for staffing levels. Just over a fifth (21 per cent) of teaching staff say their school has more teachers this year, a similar number (22 per cent) say they have fewer teachers, and two in five (40 per cent) have the same number. Just under a quarter have the same number of support staff this year, while 17 per cent have more and 14 per cent fewer. The price for this has partly been teachers’ pay. Forty per cent received a cost of living increase of between 2.1 and 3 per cent, 34 per cent received between 1 and 2 per cent, and a lucky few got more than 4 per cent.

This means that the majority of teachers received a cost of living increase below the rate of inflation and less than the 2.3 per cent received by their colleagues in the state sector. In September 2010, the traditional measure
of inflation for wages negotiations, the Retail Price Index, was 4.6 per cent. Even the lower Consumer Price Index, with housing costs removed, stood at 3.1 per cent.

Unfortunately, for support staff, the average cost of living award was even lower than for teachers. For many, this is particularly hard as pay is low to start with. Almost 35 per cent of support staff working full-time report that they earn less than £20,000pa. Of even greater concern are the 4 per cent who report that they earn less than the national minimum wage (NMW). It is likely that this figure is actually higher as some staff, such as houseparents, may be unaware of the implications of the NMW for their long hours.

Disappointingly, more than 28 per cent of support staff report that they received no cost of living increase in 2010. This is higher than in 2009. A third received a cost of living increase of between 1.1 and 2 per cent, and more than a fifth received between 2.1 and 3 per cent.

En garde
There is a clear sense that many independent schools took defensive action early, as one school leader says: “We took measures in 2008-09 to stave off the effects of the recession by drastically cutting staff and increasing class sizes, giving more teaching hours to everyone and cutting pay for most. We’re just seeing the rest of the country starting to go through the traumatic process we went through two years ago.”

ATL members understand that sometimes difficult decisions need to be made and staff may have to make sacrifices. However, as Dr Mary Bousted, says: “While we applaud prudent financial management, schools need to recognise the sacrifices staff make when they accept a pay freeze and lose staff benefits. The recession must not be used as a handy excuse by opportunist school managers to make unnecessary cuts to staff benefits or freeze wages.”

John Richardson is the ATL national official for independent schools. John can be contacted on jrichardson@atl.org.uk. The full results are available on the ATL website: www.atl.org.uk. 

Return to Planning