As energy bills and salary costs rise, school leaders say money from PTA fundraising efforts will be needed to cover basic expenses, not “nice to have” extras. In affluent areas where PTAs are able to raise huge sums, it could even be used to save jobs and pay the bills. Elsewhere, schools say PTAs will struggle to raise funds this winter as the cost of living crisis hits households. Simon Kidwell, the headteacher of Hartford Manor Primary School in Cheshire, said his school would not be asking parents for additional donations. “The PTA is very, very aware that parents don’t have the same money available.” The crisis raises the prospect of a widening gap between schools with wealthy families who can still donate money to boost their children’s education and those in disadvantaged areas. A finance director at a small trust in the South East said: “I’m going to the PTA AGM in a couple of weeks. Basically, the message will be: whatever money you can raise you should come to school. Not for specific projects … just to be able to maintain our core services.” Headteacher Simon Kidwell says he knows “parents don’t have the same money available”. Photo: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian Trust staff are removing light bulbs, turning down the heating and working out which routes to cut to save money, but in the face of spiraling energy costs it’s little more than a pinch. “This is an existential threat,” said the chief financial officer, who asked that he and his trust remain anonymous. A school’s electricity bill at the trust has jumped from £122,279 a year to £522,986 as part of a new two-year deal. The rise in gas prices was even more dramatic, from £32,783 last year to £252,926, a 671% increase. “We’re a well-run trust so we’ve got decent reserves and we can probably ride it out for a year and see what the government does,” the manager said. “If they don’t do anything, our inventory will disappear and we will be making significant redundancies. To be honest, you might as well give up and go home. Schools will stop functioning.” A letter has been sent to parents warning that costs are rising at an alarming rate and will have a “detrimental impact” on the quality of education provided, urging them to contact MPs and consider making a monthly donation of £15 or a proposed £180 contribution. The request for parent donations isn’t new – many schools have run donation programs for years – but the urgency is. The prime minister, Liz Truss, has promised a six-month energy guarantee for the public sector, but few details have been released and trust and school leaders say the short-term help will not be enough. “We don’t tend to ask parents for a lot of money,” said Dr Paul Gosling, headteacher at Exeter Road Community Primary School in Exmouth, Devon, where 45% of children are entitled to free school meals. The PTFA (Parents, Teachers and Friends Association) typically raise around £5,000 each year, which goes towards library books and helping children from lower income families take part in house trips and other visits. Gosling, who is president of the National Union of Head Teachers, expects his energy bills to double, which will put the school in a £10,000 deficit. “If something happens now, we are in a very precarious situation. If a boiler goes down or something needs fixing, we have nothing in the tank,” he said. The head of a Home Counties secondary school whose parents’ association (PA) raises £10,000-£15,000 a year said: “Ten years ago we would have used that money for ‘extras’, items recognized above and beyond from classroom provision – kit for sports clubs, stage lighting etc. “In recent years we have had to factor in their contributions to items that should be funded through government revenue – replacing computers in the 10-year-old classroom, acquiring equipment for science experiments and buying textbooks for lessons. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “However, increasingly, the gap between our income and our needs makes the PA’s contribution – however welcome – almost irrelevant. The unfunded aspect of our teachers’ pay is costing us £70,000 this year, the support staff equivalent is around £30,000, utilities are increasing by around £200,000. “Volunteer funds may once have enhanced the student experience. PA contributions may have worked to plug the gaps during the decade of austerity, but now anything they provide is nowhere near the level needed to compensate for the reckless and systematic underfunding of schools.’ Kerry-Jane Packman, chief executive at Parentkind, which is the PTA membership union, said: “Schools have been struggling for a long time, but the demand for PTAs will increase.” In 2019, 3% of PTAs surveyed said their funds were spent on either staff salaries or training. More than two-thirds (68%) spent funds on educational materials in 2019, including textbooks, and 17% paid for school renovation projects. While a small number of PTAs may raise £100,000 a year or more, the average PTA will raise £9,000. PTA fundraising has also been devastated by the pandemic. In 2021, PTAs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland raised £60.8m – around half of what they raised before the pandemic. Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “The sums involved are huge and well beyond the means of PTAs. This is really an issue that the government needs to address – something that it needs to do with a sense of urgency. “Where we may well see PTAs step in, however, is to help students whose families are struggling because of the cost of living crisis. For example, they could help buy clothes, books and other supplies needed by young people who cannot afford these expenses.’ The Department for Education previously said the government recognized schools were facing increased costs, but that budgets would rise by £7bn by 2024-25, compared to 2021-22, including £4bn this financial year alone. year to help schools respond. wider cost pressures such as energy prices and staff wages.
