Sunak’s Governance and the Deepening Crisis in UK Education: Navigating the Challenges for Newly Qualified Teachers in 2023

UK educational experts caution that a significant financial strain from soaring energy costs, teacher salaries, and outstanding payments in the education sector will lead to a financial shortfall in approximately 90% of UK schools by the close of 2023. These problems have created challenges for newly qualified teachers. This piece aims to delve into the issues plaguing the English education system, particularly highlighting the frustrations faced by recently certified educators. Furthermore, it seeks to explore the extent of Rishi Sunak’s government’s involvement in exacerbating the current predicaments within the English education system.

2023, the disastrous year of the English education system

Headteachers and educational leaders throughout the UK, alongside the Sunak administration, face mounting pressure following the release of alarming education statistics. Also, challenges for newly qualified teachers have been created due to these new problems. Leora Cruddas, Chief Executive of the Confederation of School Trusts, remarks, “The outlook for 2023 appeared challenging. Numerous trusts rely on reserves, yet these are finite and cannot be repeatedly tapped into.”

British secondary school budget deficit

Experts in the English education system say that since more than 40% of secondary schools are facing a budget deficit this year to help them deal with the crisis of essential costs and prevent further reductions in educational services and facilities, they need urgent financial support. The new figures show that 41 per cent of secondary schools have a budget deficit in the 2022-23 school year or are expected to run a debt by the end of the year, while 42 per cent of schools are forecast to run a deficit in 2023-24. Meanwhile, the priority to solve the budget deficit problem is to reduce the cost of supplies and amenities in schools.

The risk of permanent closure of educational centres 

The Department of Education’s statistics reveals that owing to this year’s surge in energy expenses, an additional 79% of recreational and educational centres face the threat of permanent closure. Furthermore, specialists from Mark Allen’s research group, in the specialized academic publication SecEd, highlighted the urgent need for funding in 42% of secondary schools grappling with budget deficits this year. These problems have created challenges for newly qualified teachers who have recently joined the British education system and are disappointed at the beginning of their work.

Reduction of educational facilities in English secondary schools

A recent report by the National Foundation for Educational Research, Nuffield Foundation, and ASK Research warns that 29% of secondary schools also ask parents for extra funding to cope with essential cost pressures. This situation confirms that secondary schools are reducing the number of facilities and arrangements to continue and balance providing services to students. Creating challenges for newly qualified teachers means that every employee expects favourable working conditions at the beginning of the job.

At the primary level, this report shows that 49 per cent of schools have a deficit in the 2022-23 academic year or expect to have an obligation by the end of the year. Meanwhile, 50 per cent expect to have a deficiency in the 2023-24 academic year and also need to reduce expenses. At the same time, 58 per cent of secondary schools ask for financial support from the students’ parents.

British schools are looking to generate additional income.

Amidst the widespread efforts in UK schools to trim expenses, a consensus among experts and education authorities, as per Vivify Venues’ research within the school association, emphasizes the heightened importance of generating additional revenue in these trying times. Proposals include leveraging resources like school parking lots for holiday rental, leasing sports and recreational gear, utilizing available advertising spaces, establishing on-campus restaurants and cafes, and providing food services for other educational institutions. These suggestions aim to bolster schools’ income streams.

An unprecedented increase in student absences from school

British schools are grappling with another challenge in the upcoming academic year: a surge in student absenteeism. Official statistics revealed that the rate of persistent student absence has doubled compared to pre-COVID-19 years. Acknowledging this issue, the Secretary for Education recently conceded that more stringent measures are necessary to enhance school student attendance.

60% increase in the rate of absence of students from schools

Between fall 2022 and summer 2023, national statistics indicate that public school students were absent for 7.5 per cent of school days. This represents a 60% increase from the overall absenteeism rate of 4.7% recorded in 2016-17. Specifically, absenteeism in public primary schools surged from 3% in the academic year 2018-19 to 6%, while secondary schools experienced a rise from 5.5% before the pandemic to 9.3% in the current academic year.

Increasing concerns about the high number of absent students

Figures for the 2022-23 academic year, published by the Department for Education, confirm that pupils in UK’s public schools have been absent at much higher rates than before COVID-19, including excused absences due to illness and It becomes illegal. While these figures significantly improve over the high absenteeism rates seen during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 and 2021, there are concerns that absenteeism will remain high this year.

Reduction of budget for school repairs in Rishi Sunak’s government

According to a Guardian, around 100,000 students study in 147 schools that UK government experts have identified as having unsafe buildings prone to collapse due to the use of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) in their buildings. According to experts, these conditions could lead to the collapse of the ceiling and walls of the classrooms and endanger the lives of about 700,000 students. RAAC concrete is a lightweight concrete used between 1960 and 1980, but it is considered poor quality and unsafe according to current standards.

Order to evacuate 100 unsafe schools at the beginning of the school year

Just a few days before the start of the new academic year, the British authorities ordered the evacuation of around 100 unsafe schools in the country, and this decision by the government has angered parents and teachers. Due to this problem, one in 10 students (9,858 students) in this country are facing a delay in the start of the school term.

Unsafe schools trouble for Rishi Sunak government

The existence of these unsafe schools can cause serious trouble for Rishi Sunak. The government is waiting for expert responses from about 1,500 schools to identify these dangerous buildings. However, Sunak has claimed that only five per cent of the nearly 22,000 schools across the UK will be affected by the assessment. However, some former senior education officials have said that in her previous role as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sunak halved the annual school repair budget when officials had called for it to be doubled.

The apocalyptic situation of the English education system

The economic situation of the education system, including schools and universities, is so critical that Simon Beamish, the chief executive of Leigh Academies Trust, has described it as an “apocalyptic situation”. The economic crisis has caused part of the burden of students’ economic and psychological problems to fall on the shoulders of teachers. Teachers who feel more than ever have no choice but to help their students. These contributions include providing food, clothing, stationery, spiritual counselling, and even washing the students’ dirty clothes.