School’s plea to parents for £10 monthly donations

A school is asking parents to make a suggested donation of £10 a month to combat government cuts.

Whitburn Church of England Academy has appealed to families for financial support as it faces a funding crisis – with a warning it will get worse in coming years.

In a three-page letter to parents and carers, principal Alan Hardie says: “Unless there is immediate action, the unfairness of school funding will have a detrimental impact on the quality of education we can provide for your child.”

It says it is now getting £325 less each year per pupil compared to six years ago, with its total funding for its secondary school down by £258,231 to £2,542,242 over the same period.

Part of the reason for the change comes in increased National Insurance, pension contributions and pay rises it has had to pay to its 130 staff members, without a rise in its grant allocation to cover its costs.

About 80% of schools’ funding goes to its workers, with the union-backed schoolcuts.org.uk estimating it will have 14 fewer teaching posts by 2019 because of the crisis.

Whitburn has said the funding from parents will ensure after school clubs, new library books, additional costs, such as the renewal of its mini-bus and money to fund coaches for its successful rugby team, will continue.

While these are not essential, it says these “enrich” their education and give its 980 secondaryschoolchildrenand200 sixthformstudentsopportunities they might miss out on.

It says it has asked for a subscription-style payment rather than regular requests to cover costs for non-curriculum trips and fees it currently covers so that parents will not face regular messages asking for cash.

Mr Hardie has said the decision to ask for extra funding “sticks in this throat” but added he wants to ensure his students get the best possible chance in their education.