‘Schools forced to go cap in hand for essentials’

School leaders are having to rely on community fundraising and parental donations to plug funding gaps for classroom essentials, a union has warned.

The majority of school leaders (95%) in England have had to generate additional income through other sources - like charity grants and fundraising - to cover basic costs for core resources, a survey has found.

One headteacher said his school relied on contributions of tens of thousands of pounds from parents to help pay for the equipment and resources needed.

A poll, of more than 1,000 members of the school leaders’ union NAHT in England between April 10 and 23, found only 1% said they currently receive enough funding to fully meet the needs of all their pupils.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, said school leaders are having to go “cap in hand” to communities to afford many essentials.

More than half (53%) of school leaders surveyed said they have had to generate additional income to cover costs of classroom materials, and nearly a quarter (24%) had to do this to cover staffing costs.

Mr Whiteman said: “These truly alarming findings make crystal clear the devastating impact of funding shortfalls upon schools across the country.

“What have things come to when schools are having to rely on charity and go cap in hand to local communities to afford teaching staff, classroom materials and play equipment at a time when many families are themselves struggling to get by?

“School leaders do everything in their power to protect children’s education, but the reality is that funding shortfalls mean cuts to teachers and teaching assistants, larger class sizes, reduced subject choice, and less individual support for pupils.

“At their worst, they may even threaten the future viability of some schools.”