SCHOOLS

SCHOOL budgets are facing cuts of eight per cent in real terms by 2020, according to a report from the National Audit Office.

The financial watchdog claimed that while school funding is supposed to be protected from spending restrictions across Whitehall, a range of pressures is forcing spending per pupil down.

Head teachers complain that they have to cope with increased costs resulting from higher contributions to teachers’ pensions, pay rises, the introduction of the national living wage and the apprenticeship levy.

Teachers complain of a lack of textbooks and computers while some schools are asking parents to make voluntary contributions to fill in funding gaps.