2,000 heads take day off... to march on No10
HEADTEACHERS were labelled ‘hypocritical’ after more than 2,000 took a day off school yesterday to march on Downing Street in a row over funding.
In a letter, delivered to Chancellor Philip Hammond, the heads claimed schools across the country were ‘under enormous duress’ and the situation was ‘unsustainable’.
But they were accused of setting a poor example by using a school day to attend the protest when they insist on 100 per cent attendance among pupils.
Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: ‘This a self-indulgent exercise … and they’re playing truant effectively.’ Accusing them of being ‘hypocritical’, he added: ‘We have this big row about term-time holidays – well here we have headteachers taking term-time holidays to go and agitate just before the Conservative Party conference. If they want their children to attend school and not play truant, they should attend school and not play truant.’
And Peter Bone, Tory MP for Wellingborough, said: ‘It seems to me that if they want to make that sort of political protest, do it on a Saturday, or if they don’t want to do it on a Saturday, do it during the school holidays.
‘But to take time off from teaching children to make a political point, which by the way is unfounded, is wholly wrong.’
The heads, who travelled from across the country, demanded increased funding amid a growing ‘crisis’ in primaries and secondaries. They said class sizes were rising, subjects have been scrapped and staff have been made redundant budget as schools shortfalls. attempt Their to tackle letter pointed to evidence from the Institute of Fiscal Studies showing perpupil funding had fallen in real terms by 8 per cent since 2010. Jules White, headteacher of Tanbridge House School in Horsham, West Sussex, and who organised the march, insisted everyone attending the protest had done so with the ‘blessing’ of their governing bodies or trusts. Speaking outside Downing Street, he said: ‘We’re not expecting a bottomless pit of money but we can’t keep on suffering real terms cuts.’ A Department for Education spokesman said: ‘There is more money going into schools than ever before, rising to a record £43.5billion by 2020 – 50 per cent more in real terms per pupil than in 2000. The 3.5 per cent pay rise we announced for classroom teachers on the main pay range is backed by £508million Government funding.’