A Conwy County Councillor has spoken out about the impending cuts to schools in the county as budgets are squeezed.
Conwy’s schools are set to receive a funding cut of 4% for the next financial year, which is a cut of “7.6% in real terms and equates to a figure of more than £400,000 for some of the county's 60 schools” according to Headteachers.
Cllr. Aaron Wynne who sits on Conwy Council for Plaid Cymru says that the cuts will “undermine schools and prevent them from being able to deliver a high-standard education.”
The Llanrwst Councillor said; “These brutal cuts are taking a stranglehold on our children’s education.
“Headteachers have already warned that redundancies will be made, class sizes will get larger and buildings will fall into disrepair.
“This is will only create further barriers for our children in Conwy as they attempt to access education and training, and will undermine our schools and teachers.
“Austerity has clearly failed and needs to be ended. These cuts will have long-term adverse effects on our young people, leaving the ‘millennial’ generation far worse off than our parents.”
Earlier this week Headteachers in Conwy co-signed a letter to all parents about the looming cuts to schools’ budgets and the effects on the county’s students.
In the letter, Headteachers say that “with increased pressures on school budgets and cuts to services that support our most vulnerable young people and their families, it is make-or-break time for our schools.
"The financial situation has become critical. Conwy schools must make redundancies with a great many other schools being in a deficit budget over the next few years.”
A petition has been set up calling on the Welsh government to protect funding to schools and, if they cannot, to acknowledge the impact of cuts on educational provision, particularly for our most vulnerable learners.
You can sign the petition here: www.assembly.wales/en/gethome/e-petitions
