Thousands of headteachers march on Westminster over school funding ‘crisis’

‘We are on the verge of imploding. You get to the point where you cannot cut any further’

More than two thousand headteachers skipped class for an “unprecedented” march on Westminster demanding increased funding for schools.

School leaders from across England, Wales and Northern Ireland met in Parliament Square before marching to Downing Street where a letter was delivered demanding more money.

The protest – organised by grassroots campaign group Worth Less? – saw thousands of school leaders collectively take the day off work to ensure their voices were heard.

Headteachers on the rally warned of collapsing school buildings, significant cuts to teaching staff, bigger class sizes and a loss of support for the most vulnerable pupils amid budget pressures.

And more parents are being asked to pay for essentials – such as loo roll, paper and pens – while an increasing number of schools are considering a four-and-a-half day school week, unions said.

During the march on Friday, school leaders from Cumbria to Cornwall held signs saying “schools are cut to the bone”, “straight outta funding” and “relentlessly reasonable”.

School headteachers demonstrate to demand better funding for education (Reuters)

The headteachers dressed in smart attire, including suits and ties, applauded as they lined Whitehall – from Parliament Square to Downing Street. Many said they had never taken part in a march before.

“These middle-aged, middle-class headteachers are not here for fun. We are certainly not here for a day out,” headteacher Jules White, leader of Worth Less?, told The Independent.

“We are having to regularly respond to youngsters with complex needs – such as domestic violence. We are the ones picking that up frequently. We are happy to do it but we need the resources,” Mr White added.

Gillian Seymour, headteacher of Checkendon Primary School, a small school in Oxfordshire, said she had never been to a rally before. The “tremendous pressure” on school budgets brought her out.

“It is an impossible situation. You want to provide the best possible inclusive education and we are not being given the funding to do it,” she told The Independent.

Bernard Moore, who retired as headteacher of Woodcock Hill Primary School in Birmingham in the summer, said it was the worst he had ever seen school funding in his 42 years in education.

He warned the school – which has 70 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals – will go bankrupt next year unless more money is provided. Already a number of cuts have had to be made at the school – including teaching staff and free music lessons.

“We had a free breakfast club because a lot of our pupils come to school having not had anything to eat. But that has to be paid for now by parents,” he told The Independent.

The march commenced at 11.30am from Parliament Square. (Reuters)

Headteachers also expressed concern about the lack of funding for school repairs. Samantha Crinnion, executive headteacher of Tenterden Primary Federation in Kent, said: “I have got rotting doors and rooting windows. How do we deal with that? We don’t.

“We just pray that we get another year of a window not falling out.”

Ms Crinnion, the spokesperson for the Ashford branch of the association of Kent heads, added: “I think we are on the verge of imploding. You get to the point where you cannot cut any further.

“Schools are surviving on the good will of headteachers, teachers and support staff. If we didn’t have the good will we have got then we would barely function as a school. And that is running thin now.”

The letter to chancellor Philip Hammond – which was delivered by a group of headteachers – warned that school budgets are still “in crisis” and said that the situation was “unsustainable”.

It added: “Our schools remain under enormous duress and we cannot sit idly by as the children and families that we serve receive such an unsatisfactory deal from the government.”

In July, the Institute for Fiscal Studies concluded that total school spending per pupil has fallen by 8 per cent in real terms in England since 2010 – at a time when pupil numbers have been increasing.

Their school budgets have been squeezed by rising pupil numbers, unfunded pay rises, national insurance payments and other cost pressures.

But the government has said that schools are receiving more money than ever before.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “This ought to feel pretty demeaning for a government that people whose day job is to be in school have had to take a day out of school because they think the only way they can get a message through to the government is by marching down to Downing Street.”

Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), told The Independent: “Parents are being asked for money for the basics – for paper, loo roll, pens – because there isn’t money to pay for the basics. It is definitely on the rise. It was unheard of five years ago.

“Primary schools are on four-and-a-half day weeks now. I understand it is happening in Birmingham. This is not something that the government is going to be able to mask from parents. The situation is tirelessly poor and it is going to get worse.”

A Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson said: “There is more money going into schools than ever before, rising to a record £43.5bn by 2020 – 50 per cent more in real terms per pupil than in 2000.

“The OECD has recently confirmed that the UK is the third highest spender on education in the world, spending more per pupil than countries including Germany, Australia and Japan.

“Every school attracts more funding per pupil through the National Funding Formula, high needs funding has risen to over £6bn this year and the 3.5 per cent pay rise we announced for classroom teachers on the main pay range is backed by £508m government funding.

“We know that we are asking schools to do more, which is why we are helping them to reduce the £10bn spent each year on non-staffing costs, providing government-backed deals for things like printers and energy suppliers that are helping to save millions of pounds.”