Pupils asked to bring in loo roll to help school budget

‘We have had a really positive response from everyone, they know we are trying to manage’

CHILDREN have been told to bring their own loo paper to their primary school to help teachers deal with a shrinking budget.

A letter sent to parents by Laura Cooper, head teacher at St John’s Primary School in Crowborough, East Sussex, said: “We would like the children to bring in various ‘essential’ items such as stationary [ sic] (eg, glue sticks, pencils, Blu-Tack, boxes of tissues, Sellotape etc) and, of course, loo rolls!”

Mrs Cooper had earlier written to families, saying: “The cost of resources such as toilet rolls now has to be rigorously monitored alongside the progress and achievement of the pupils.”

The school, rated “good” by Ofsted, has 210 pupils and was praised by the education watchdog for having “a very strong family-orientated culture”.

Mrs Cooper said: “The parents have been really supportive with children bringing in things, then we are not needing to spend money on those items and can direct money into specialist areas.

“We can enhance extra-curricular activities, we don’t charge for afterschool clubs because we want things to be inclusive.

“We run a lot of things on the goodwill of staff, but there are cost implications for the transportation of children to tournaments and competitions.”

Around £500 worth of goods were stacked up on a table in the school as parents took the message to heart during their weekly grocery shop.

Mrs Cooper, who has been head teacher at the school for 13 years, said: “We have had a really positive response from everyone, they know what we are trying to manage, and we are being open and honest about it.”

Jason Sadler, chairman of the school’s governors, said: “Everyone has been shocked, it’s not just ‘poor St John’s’, it is all schools – real-term cuts are causing a massive problem.”