A representative from the National Education Union (NEU) has described it as a “sad place to be” following the revelation that energy costs in Bradford schools have doubled.
According to Department for Education figures, local authority-run schools in 2022–2023 spent £5.66 million on energy.
At £163 per student, this is more than twice as much as the £2.76 million that was spent the previous year.
This amount represents the highest cost since £5.68 million in 2015–16.
The NEU’s Bradford branch secretary, Tom Bright, stated: “Energy prices have increased significantly everywhere.
“Most homeowners will admit that their energy expenses have also doubled if you ask them.
“Schools had to set aside money for rising energy costs, as was well known.
It’s a difficult one, and I have no envy towards schools. Staffing will be impacted, which will have an impact on educational quality. It is a depressing location.”
School administrators, according to Mr. Bright, simply want to concentrate on leading, and “pinching pennies all the time makes it a difficult job.”
According to a separate analysis, many English school buildings are not performing up to par in terms of energy efficiency.
DECs are made to display the energy efficiency of public buildings on a scale from ‘A’ to ‘G,’ with ‘A’ representing the highest efficiency and ‘G’ representing the lowest.
Of the 188 school buildings rated in Bradford last year, 27% fell into the worst categories, meaning they wasted more energy and released the most carbon dioxide.
An estimated 69% of the local schools had a building assessment completed the previous year.
“If you had a magic wand, you would rebuild schools in a way that uses less energy,” stated Mr. Bright.
“Let’s install solar panels that use less fuel in place of our outdated boilers. That requires funding, which isn’t available.
“It seems odd that Bradford schools would concentrate on that when they have to consider student attendance,advancement and everything else that counts in schools.
“I understand why focussing on energy costs is not a priority.”
A representative for the Department of Education stated: “We are aware that school energy costs have gone up. In order to cover costs, we took this into consideration and increased overall school funding by £3.9 billion this year and £4 billion in 2022–2023.
“School funding is rising to more than £59.6 billion next year – the highest ever level in real terms per pupil.”
