The headmasters will see you now, Mr Hammond...
2,000 in polite protest over ‘unsustainable’ school cuts
TWO THOUSAND headteachers marched on Downing Street yesterday to demand extra money for their cash-strapped schools.
The unprecedented “polite protest” saw double the number organisers had expected from schools throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The heads were dressed for business and unlike many protests gathering in Parliament Square, every placard had the correct spelling and apostrophe in the right place. They then marched in orderly file towards Downing Street.
A delegation delivered a letter to Chancellor Philip Hammond protesting over what they claim are “unsustainable” funding cuts.
The event was organised by grassroots group WorthLess?, which campaigns for more
School funding is a cash crisis Government won’t deal with PAUL WHITEMAN OF HEADS’ UNION NAHT
money to tackle overcrowded classrooms, staff recruitment and retention, and poor working conditions. Rob Kelsall, one of the organisers, said he was delighted by the turnout and added it was unprecedented for heads to take such action, and added he hoped the Chancellor would listen. Paul Whiteman, of school leaders’ union NAHT, said schools were at “breaking point” and almost three-quarters of heads say they will be unable to balance their budgets for next year. He added: “Headteachers are not normally the marching kind. So, when they do, it must be serious. This is an organic experience of school-leader frustration and anger. “They’re sick of being told that there’s more money in education than ever before, when what they see with their own eyes, every day, proves that it’s just not enough.
“More and more now, children succeed despite the system, not because of it. And that can’t be right. School funding is the public-service cash crisis that the Government refuses to deal with.”
Headteachers told the Mirror of the daily struggle to deliver good education in the face of cuts.
Anthony White, 48, from Pound Hill Junior School in Crawley, West Sussex, said: “A whole generation is losing out and that generation is the future
“This isn’t just about children’s learning, it’s about their mental health, their wellbeing and that’s what is being affected. You won’t see the effect of that today, but over the next weeks, months, years, we will all see the impact.” Cathy Rowland, 54, from Dobcroft Infant School, in Sheffield, said: “We understand austerity and we’ve made the easier cuts, but now... the only cuts we’ve got left will seriously damage the education of children.” It comes as the NUT and National Education Union warned supply teachers, cover supervisors and teaching assistants are being used to provide cut-price education in schools. The low-paid staff, who are used to take classes to save cash-strapped school budgets, earn so little some have to use foodbanks. In July, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said total school spending per pupil fell by 8% in real terms in England between 2009/10 and 2017/18. A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “There is more money going into schools than ever before.”