Labour MP dumps young son at No10 in protest at Friday school shutdowns
A LABOUR MP dumped her young son on the steps of 10 Downing Street yesterday as part of a protest over 250 schools closing early every Friday to save cash.
Jess Phillips left her ten-year-old son Danny as part of the demonstration, saying his school was among those causing childcare chaos for parents.
The outspoken Birmingham Yardley MP claimed the schools had been forced to send children home at lunchtime due to a shortage of government funding.
The protest drew parents from Birmingham, Stockport, Leicester, Sussex, Hertfordshire and Wiltshire, with many bringing their children along.
Those travelling from far away missed a whole day of school to attend but parents said they ‘did not expect fines’ for truancy as the schools had approved.
Mrs Phillips said: ‘Education cuts mean that lots of children like my son Danny will not be able to go to school five days a week. It is Theresa May’s responsibility to look after our children. The Government has a responsibility to offer universal education five days a week and they are degrading that.’ Her son Danny added: ‘Why are we one of the richest countries in the world and yet we cannot afford to have children in school?’
The protest was organised by Save Our Schools, which was co-founded by Cath Fisher, a mother who has worked with the National Education Union.
The campaigners say more than 250 schools are now either part-time or going part-time because of funding cuts and they warn many more schools will have to follow suit.
Missing half a day every Friday adds up to roughly 20 lost days every year.
The shortened Fridays cause huge problems for working parents who have to sort out childcare or leave work early.
But a recent study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows schools have much more money in real terms compared with 20 years ago – although there has still been a dip over the past few years.
Schools say they now need more money because of the extra responsibilities they have, such as more children being diagnosed with special needs.
A Department for Education spokesman said of Mrs Phillips’ claim: ‘The funding for an average primary class of 28 in Birmingham is £125,000 – above the national average of £115,000 for an equivalent-sized class. These amounts are to cover a full five-day week in term time.’
Schools are coercing parents into signing ‘off-rolling’ consent forms to get rid of low-achieving children who are hard to teach, it has been revealed.
In total, 29 councils have reported concerns about off-rolling or a rise in home education to the school admissions watchdog. Off-rolling involves removing a pupil from the school roll without resorting to permanent exclusion.
The councils revealed to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator that parents are being told they must sign the forms and continue to teach the National Curriculum at home however poorly equipped they are to do so, the Times Educational Supplement reported.
‘Education being degraded’