The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) says the burden on school and college leaders and teachers has never been higher, in a new report. The union notes that schools are running food banks and helping families with housing as wider public services remain underfunded and close to collapsing. It says these services are important but should not fall to schools and teachers alone.

Julie McCulloch, the ASCL’s director of strategy and policy, said expectations on schools have grown beyond teaching to cover a wide range of societal duties, driven in part by the pandemic, high child poverty and weak public services. “From running food banks and supporting families with housing, to resolving parking issues and mediating parental disputes, the burden placed on school and college teachers and leaders has never been higher,” she added. “Some of these issues are obviously of great importance but they cannot continue to be shouldered by educators.” The ASCL also outlines which tasks schools might reasonably take on and which should be handled by other agencies.

The report lists certain duties that could be taken on if funding and resources are available, including providing technology for pupils, supporting pupils’ personal hygiene, ensuring Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) are met, and reducing youth violence. It cites a University of Bristol study from last year showing around one in five schools runs a charitable food or household aid scheme. It calls on the government to publish a long-term education plan similar to its NHS strategy and to map local responsibilities for services. It argues that schools require adequate core funding and that investment in wider children’s services and a plan to tackle child poverty are needed. The government is expected to publish its child poverty strategy in the autumn. “More needs to be done to clearly distinguish where the core responsibilities of education staff start and end,” Ms McCulloch said. “It is time to rethink exactly what we expect from schools and colleges and how they should be resourced to meet these demands.” A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Tackling the baked-in inequalities in our education system will take time, but our plan for change will break the unfair link between background and success. Our Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill marks the biggest overhaul of children’s social care in a generation and we’re tackling child poverty by expanding free school meals eligibility, limiting the number of branded uniform items and rolling out free breakfast clubs across the country. We’re also restoring teaching as the highly valued profession it should be including tackling the root causes that are turning people away from joining, staying on and thriving in the profession, like poor pupil behaviour, high workload and poor wellbeing.”