Hard-up school asks older pupils to clean classrooms

A Cash-strapped primary school has resorted to asking pupils to vacuum classrooms because it cannot afford to replace the cleaner.

Furzedown primary in Tooting, south London, said it had taken the step as it was struggling to balance its books. The school’s headteacher, Monica Kitchlew-wilson, said it has had to ask older students to clean classrooms after one of their cleaners left and they could not afford to replace her.

Her husband, Dave Wilson, has also had to tackle minor plumbing jobs around the school to help save money.

It comes after thousands of parents, teachers and governors held protests last week against the current level of education funding, which will see schools in England see a cut of £3billion in real-terms.

While the total amount of money allocated to schools is at record levels, inflation and rising pupil numbers mean schools are having to make cuts.

Many schools also fear a new funding formula that the Government claims will be fairer. Almost 11,000 schools are likely to gain extra funding but around 9,000 will see more cuts.

Schools have asked parents to buy items such as lavatory roll and pleaded for money to buy essential texts books.

Mrs Kitchlew-wilson said her budget would be down by £100,000 as a result of a combination of cuts.

“We are getting boxes of stuff from Amazon that parents are buying for us but it’s not right that families have to buy resources,” she said.