![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/essex-schools-face-deficits-and-heads-fear-cuts-to-teaching-staff/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/127518758_mediaitem127518757.jpg&description=Image source, Simon Dedman/BBCImage caption, The government said it was aiming to help schools through the rise in fuel bills with its Energy Bill Relief SchemeNearly half the schools in the East of England are facing a deficit this year, a survey of head teachers has found.The National Association of Head Teachers said 48% of its members in the region feared they might have to cut staff next year to balance the books.Jody Gee, chair of union in Essex, said schools faced an average rise of £205,000 a year in fuel costs while the government was offering £45,000.The government said it had increased spending on schools this year by £4bn.Ms Gee told BBC Politics East that schools were grateful for the government's financial assistance, but she said it was "a small drop in a very large ocean".Image source, Simon Dedman/BBCImage caption, Chair of Essex branch of the National Association of Head Teachers, Jody Gee, said government support to cover rising energy costs was "a small drop in a very large ocean"While the government boosted education spending last year, inflation and teacher pay rises of at least 5% has led the Institute for Fiscal Studies to forecast that schools would still have less money in 2025 than they had 15 years ago. Carl Wakefield, executive principal of the Plume Academy in Maldon, Essex, said: "We now have to continue to work on that £300,000 budget deficit and, when we have worked for years and years on those fine margins, there's very little left that we can work on. "So what it will mean for us ultimately is when staff members leave we won't be able to replace them."Image source, Simon Dedman/BBCImage caption, Carl Wakefield, executive principal of the Plume Academy in Maldon, Essex, said budget concerns may mean he will not be able to replace teachers who leaveGemma Wills, head of English at the Plume Academy, criticised the government for awarding a pay rise to teachers without fully funding it."That means [it is] money that otherwise would be){kind=link}
Nearly half the schools in the East of England are facing a deficit this year, a survey of head teachers has found.
The National Association of Head Teachers said 48% of its members in the region feared they might have to cut staff next year to balance the books.
Jody Gee, chair of union in Essex, said schools faced an average rise of £205,000 a year in fuel costs while the government was offering £45,000.
The government said it had increased spending on schools this year by £4bn.
Ms Gee told BBC Politics East that schools were grateful for the government’s financial assistance, but she said it was “a small drop in a very large ocean”.