Ministers have launched a voluntary exit payout scheme for Department for Education staff without the 鈥渟kills the department needs for the future鈥, as it seeks to cut around 10 per cent of its workforce. Staff were told about the 鈥渟elective voluntary exit scheme鈥 on Monday. In a message seen by Schools Week, the DfE said it aimed to get staffing numbers 鈥渃loser to鈥 2020 levels, when it employed around 7,000 people.聽 The department will offer eligible staff three weeks鈥 salary per year of service to leave next May. Managers will 鈥渞obust and fairly鈥 assess civil servants鈥 applications to the scheme. A voluntary exit scheme is not the same as voluntary redundancies, and as such can offer different terms. The DfE told staff it has no plans to make redundancies, but has also ruled out simply not replacing those who leave through “natural attrition”. According to , the DfE and its agency the Education and Skills Funding Agency employed 8,294 people as of September. In , the two organisations had a joint headcount of 7,489. If numbers are cut back to this level, this would mean a 10 per cent reduction on current levels, though the DfE today insisted it was not a target-driven scheme. Prime minister Rishi Sunak recently to cut 91,000 civil service jobs over three years, saying he did not 鈥渂elieve that top-down targets鈥 for headcount reductions are 鈥渢he right way鈥 to save money. But he said the government would ask every department to look for 鈥渢he most effective ways to secure value and maximise efficiency within budgets, so that we can use taxpayers鈥 money sustainably in the long term鈥. Union expresses fears over voluntary exit scheme Helen Kenny, national officer at the FDA senior civil servants’ union, said her organisation was 鈥渃oncerned that there is no real waste to be cut and ministerial priorities still need to be delivered鈥. Sunak 鈥淲e need to see concrete proposals regarding how the department will match commitments to resources 鈥 bluntly what work is not going to be done 鈥 otherwise our members鈥 health and wellbeing is being placed at risk.鈥 In documents sent to staff, the DfE鈥檚 leadership team said the department had “grown a lot” over the last few years, but its spending review settlement meant 鈥渨e need to get a bit smaller again鈥. Last year’s spending review allocated 拢77 billion to the department for this financial year, an increase of almost 拢7 billion on 2021-22. However, the vast majority of the budget is distributed to schools, colleges and universities, leaving around 拢5 billion. The DfE said it had ruled out losing staff only through natural attrition, where employees are not replaced when they leave, as this 鈥渨ould mean an extended period of slow and difficult recruitment constraints鈥. The exit scheme will allow the department to 鈥渕ove quickly, to be more confident that those who are leaving aren鈥檛 taking our best skills with them, and, when it is done, to operate with more freedom and flexibility than a long, slow attrition”. The department said it would have a 鈥渞obust and fair selection process”. But not everyone who wants to leave can take up the scheme, as it is only 鈥渇or those who don鈥檛 have the skills the department needs for the future鈥. Managers could use a “range of factors” to assess the applicant, including their “core skills” and “future operating models”. DfE said it would be unlikely to support an application for someone with “hard-to-replace specialist skills” which they “continue to need”. No staff should ‘feel pressured’ into applying DfE insisted the scheme was 鈥渆ntirely voluntary鈥 and 鈥渘o one should feel pressurised into applying or taking a voluntary exit package鈥. 20% rise in cost-cutter savings and 6 more ESFA accounts findings In the documents, the department said it had no plans to make voluntary or compulsory redundancies. Staff will have two weeks to apply later this year. If they accept the package of three weeks鈥檚 salary per year of service, they will leave in May next year. If a staff member leaves and is not replaced, the management team will 鈥渞eaddress priorities based on capacity and adjust workload accordingly鈥. It comes as ESFA staff have been moving over to the department as part of a reorganisation. In 2020, DfE had a total of 5,307 employees and ESFA had 2,182. In September, this had moved to 7,480 at DfE and just 814 at ESFA. The scheme also comes at a time when DfE’s workload looks set to increase amid ambitions for every school to become an academy. The DfE was approached for comment.