Some independent schools are showing early signs of being affected by the credit crunch according to a survey by our AMiE partner, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL).
In an ATL survey of over 2,000 staff working in independent schools around the UK in October 2008, a fifth said their school has fewer pupils than last year.
Fifty-four per cent of teachers fear there may be cuts in their school’s spending this year, and only 27 per cent don’t expect any cuts. Fourteen per cent said their school had fewer teachers this September than in 2007, and 16 per cent think there may be redundancies in their school during this academic year.
However, the survey also shows that many independent schools are managing to ride out the economic turmoil so far. Around 45 per cent of teachers and support staff said their school has more pupils this academic year, a third of teachers said there are more teachers this year and a quarter of support staff said they have more non-teaching staff in their school.
Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said: “The survey backs up what we are hearing anecdotally – that some smaller private schools are feeling the pinch and already beginning to find the going tough in the current economic climate.
“From experience we know there tends to be a lag between parents suffering a fall in income, while they try to re-juggle their finances or find another job, and taking their children out of private education. If the recession continues for long we fear more independent schools will begin to struggle and there will be further redundancies.
“But it would be wrong for schools to use the economic climate as an excuse to mistreat staff. We urge schools to act responsibly as good employers and ensure staff do not suffer unnecessarily, that salary cuts and redundancies are a last resort and are handled with care.”
Nearly two-thirds of teachers working in independent schools said they work more than 48 hours a week, rising to 75 per cent of full-timers, and a third work more than five days a week during term time. Among support staff nearly a fifth work over 48 hours and 13 per cent work more than five days a week.
However, 24 per cent of teachers said their pay was lower than in state schools, 24 per cent said their pay was comparable to that of state school colleagues, and 29 per cent said their pay was better.
The survey reveals the basic salary of nearly half of full-time teachers is less than £35,000 a year, and or a fifth under £30,000. Among part-timers 42 per cent are on a basic salary of less than £30,000.
Over 40 per cent of supply staff receive a basic salary of under £18,000 a year, and nearly a quarter earn less than £15,000.
When the average full-time basic teaching salary is divided by the average number of hours worked a week during term time the survey suggests independent teachers are being paid on average £15.50 an hour for each hour they work.
Dr Mary Bousted said: “Too many private schools are exploiting their staff, expecting them to work excessive hours for mediocre pay.
“We recognise times are tough for some independent schools in the current credit crunch, but this does not justify the way they treat their staff. Schools which treat their staff badly cannot reasonably expect to retain the brightest staff and thus attract and keep pupils, and so are likely to suffer particularly hard in the economic downturn.”
