Schools standards minister Will Quince says classrooms must remain open five days a week this winter despite rising energy costs.
He insisted there was already "additional funding" of £4bn this year - which while not devoted to energy bills, would help schools pay their way. And he rebuffed fears raised earlier this month that some schools could cut to a three or four-day week, saying they should manage within "existing budgets".
On the idea some schools won’t be able to open five days a week he replied: “I don’t accept that. We expect schools to be open five days a week and over 70% of schools are open a 32.5 hour week.
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“The IFS indeed have looked at schools and they have said that schools should be able to manage within their existing budgets. But I'm alive to the fact that energy costs are increasing at a significant rate. We see that in our household bills, in commercial and indeed schools so we keep a very watchful eye.”
Ofgem will tomorrow announce the price cap on domestic energy bills from October 1 - which is expected to soar from less than £1,300 a year last winter to more than £3,600 a year now, reports The Mirror. But it could be even worse for schools, as they are not subject to the energy price cap like ordinary households, and non-domestic gas and electricity prices rose 93% in 2021.
Asked what he’d do to help schools that want to cut to a three-day week, Mr Quince told Sky News: “We keep a watchful eye. Some schools will be under long term contracts, others will be coming out of those contracts and we’ll keep a watchful eye on it.
“I listen to schools and school leaders up and down the country. And as I say, we'll be working with the new prime minister and the new Secretary of State and Government we'll have in just a couple of weeks time to look at some of the challenges we face.”
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