MP warns cuts will force schools to lose teachers

FUNDING cuts mean schools in Rochdale will have ‘no option’ but to cut the number of teachers, MP Liz McInnes has told Parliament.

Speaking during the Queen’s Speech debate on education and local services on Tuesday the Heywood and Middleton MP, whose constituency includes Norden, Bamford and Castleton, said she had been contacted by ‘many teachers and headteachers’ concerned that cuts to school budgets meant the ‘cupboard was bare.’

She said: “Figures from the National Audit Office show that, in the borough of Rochdale of which my constituency of Heywood and Middleton forms a part, our schools are facing cuts of £15m. On average, our local schools are facing cuts of £550 per pupil, which is equivalent to the loss of 468 teachers across the borough, leading to larger class sizes and increasing stress and disillusionment among those teachers remaining in post.

“I have been contacted by many headteachers and teachers in my constituency, who have expressed their real and serious concerns about the impact of the new funding formula on our children’s education. They have told me that they have had to make budget savings year on year, and that now the cupboard is bare.

“The imposition of any more cuts will give them no option but to reduce the number of teachers.

“Locally, none of the schools in my constituency is a winner; they will all lose out under the new funding formula. Nationally, the picture appears to be much the same, with even Tory MPs complaining that these cuts are “entirely unacceptable”.”

During the speech Ms McInnes also paid tribute to staff and pupils at St Vincent’s Primary School in Norden.

She added: “Last week, the wonderful children at St Vincent’s Roman Catholic primary school in Norden in my constituency invited me to a morning assembly on the theme of “send my friend to school” where they sang and performed brilliantly on behalf of their international neighbours.

“They reminded me that, at our current rate of progress, sustainable development goal number four will not be achieved until 2084.

“None the less, it made me very proud to see those children looking outwards, not inwards. Seeing this care and compassion among our young people gave me hope for the future, and I hope that this government will take note.” ●●MP Liz McInnes (inset) paid tribute to St Vincent’s School in Parliament amid her warning about the effects of cuts on staff numbers