Chief executive Dave Baker said energy bills were fixed in 10 out of 11 schools run by the Olympus Academy Trust across south Gloucestershire. He said if the other 10 schools followed suit its £907,000 energy costs could rise to £4.6m per year from 2023.
The Department for Education has said school budgets would rise by £7bn by 2024-45 compared to 2021-22. The spokesperson said they “recognise that schools - much like the wider economy - are facing increased costs” and £4bn extra funding would be given to schools “in this financial year alone”. “This is a 7% cash terms per pupil increase compared with 2021-22 and will help schools to meet wider cost pressures, including energy prices and staff salaries,” they added.
Mr Baker said: “£4.6m would be over 10% of our overall budget across the trust and it would break every single school. The risk is, although it’s absolutely hideous, it may get worse. It’s a really tricky time and the reality is, if we get a contract that is £4.6m, we won’t be able to afford to keep going,” he added.
Mr Baker said the planned 5% teacher and support staff pay increases, announced by the Department of Education in July, were also causing financial issues. He said the pay increases, not funded by the government, would cost the trust 750k more than the trust had budgeted for.
Mr Baker said the rising cost of energy, inflation and the pay increases were a “perfect storm”. “We’ll survive this coming year based on reserves, and how we planned, but we will not be able to go through another year.”
Mr Baker said he hoped a new Secretary of Education would be appointed when a new prime minister is chosen, offering help to schools grappling with the rising cost of energy.
I imagine this will be the case for many schools right across the country. I fear many will close for the winter, forcing the children to learn from home once more.
My schools was cold it had a bit pot bellied stove at one end that didn’t do much other than make a dreadful stink .
Surely schools today are so insulated they must be warm.
Well yes, it will, but the parents won’t be at work anyway because their place of employment will have shut down due to the costs of keeping it open. It’ll get to the stage where only places of vital importance (like hospitals) will be able to keep the lights on and the machines working.
I have sympathy for both sidesnof the argument so surel the ultimate
solution would be for the energy companies who are now awash with
cash, to supply schools and such like the NHS etc with free power ??
Yes entirely free, as a sign of their social commitment ??
Should be simple to implement imo !!
@Omah , A good article, it makes a great play about carbon, but lurking jus
around the corner is methane which has nine times more effect on
temperature rise than carbon !!
Once carbon has raised the world temperature enough to thaw the permafrost
in the artic, then billions of tons of tundra will release untold quantities
of Methane into the atmosphere !!!
Scientists are monitoring the tundra right now and signs are that the
process has , started allready, if it goes too far then mankind will be
unable to stop it !!
Have a nice day
@PixieKnuckles , " dodging the issue"
Well hes in charge, up to him to issue an edict to the energy moguls
to supply vital facilities for free, forever !!
