Education chief admits county’s schools facing financial crisis

A council’s education chief has admitted that schools in the county borough are facing a financial crisis.

Cllr Phil Wynn, Lead member for Education, made the admission in a statement released ahead of a meeting of Wrexham County Borough Council’s Lifelong Learning Committee on Wednesday.

A report before the committee will show that 31 schools are projected to go into a licensed deficit this financial year – twice as many as last year.

A licensed deficit is where schools cannot operate within their allocated budget and have to apply for a spceial ‘overdraft’ facility from the council. They then have three years to return to a balanced budget.

The same report will show that a Wrexham Council funding pot set aside to help schools with redundancy costs remains set at £200,000 – leaving Wrexham schools to find an additional £671,000 of redundancy pay from this year’s education budgets.

Cllr Wynn, who has been Lead Member for Education since 2017, said the challenges in Wrexham were in-line with national trends – but admitted the region’s schools were facing a dire situation.

“Several schools have already registered the need for overdrafts during 2025/26,” he said. “This trend is expected to worsen in line with the national picture. Therefore, it is important to acknowledge that a financial crisis is looming for our schools.

“As Lead Member for Education since 2017, I have had the privilege of working closely with Wrexham’s school communities and our dedicated education officers. Their unwavering commitment to educating Wrexham learners deserves recognition and celebration, particularly given the significant challenges they have faced in recent years.

“These have included implementing the new Welsh curriculum, adapting to distance learning during the COVID lockdown, managing the ongoing effects of the pandemic, responding to a new Estyn inspection framework, navigating a nationally under-funded Additional Learning Needs (ALN) Act, supporting increasing numbers of children with ALN, and addressing the impact of a declining birth rate on pupil numbers.

“Against this backdrop, austerity measures that started in 2010 began to impact school funding here in Wrexham in 2024/25, when we had no choice but to reduce the schools’ budgets by £5 million.

“Despite these pressures, I want to express my sincere thanks to all our school Heads and Governing Bodies for working tirelessly with WCBC education and finance officers since January to manage expenditure within their allocated budgets.

“This work is ongoing and I will be reassuring elected members of this progress at the Lifelong Learning Scrutiny Committee meeting this Wednesday.

“I also want to pay tribute to school governors across Wrexham. These individuals give their time freely and without financial reward, demonstrating an extraordinary level of commitment to their schools and communities. Their role in supporting leadership, ensuring accountability, and shaping the strategic direction of our schools is invaluable, and their dedication often goes unseen. I want to make sure it is recognised.

“Finally, I would like to thank the heads who have contributed to the review of our revised School Budget Allocation formula for 2026/27.

“My hope is that the Welsh Government will act responsibly and settle its 2026/27 budget in the New Year, while acknowledging the urgent need for additional core funding to stabilise our schools and secure the future of education throughout Wales.”