Headteachers spell out new worries in letter to parents

New warnings over the effects of Government funding cuts on schools in West Sussex went out on Friday from headteachers to parents.

‘Dismayed’ school heads say that the Department for Eduction is refusing to face the effects of the cuts - and that West Sussex, along with schools in the rest of the country, are still not receiving enough cash.

In the letters - from the West Sussex campaign group Worth Less? - parents are warned: “Schools are still not being provided with adequate funding and resource to deliver the level of provision and support that is expected and that our families and children deserve.”

The heads say that school budgets have been cut by between eight and 20 per cent since 2010.

In the the headteachers say: “Increasingly, schools are being asked to support with children’s emotional health and wellbeing. Frequently, we do not have adequate resource letter, to meet a growing need.

“Often, the most vulnerable students in our schools – those with special educational needs and disabilities – are bearing the brunt of cuts and schools are struggling to provide the levels of support that they are entitled to.

“These issues are not simply affecting a few schools though West Sussex is severely affected. They are common features across our education system up and down the country. Levels of concern are so widespread amongst headteachers that we are all working together with a united voice.”

The heads have written to the Secretary of State for Education three times since last September. “We are dismayed that he has chosen to ignore our communications and repeated requests to meet.” In September 2018, more than 2,000 headteachers campaigned at Westminster in a bid to underline the seriousness of the situation.

The ‘Worth Less?’ campaign group - spearheaded by Jules White, headteacher of Tanbridge House School in Horsham - now comprises 64 local authorities and boroughs, covering thousands of schools and millions of families.

The Worth Less? campaign is being supported by the parent-led group Save Our Schools West Sussex. It is encouraging all parents ‘to act to support local headteachers by writing to their MP or directly to the Department for Education.

SOS campaigner Mel Pickett said: “The funding situation in our schools is unsustainable, and we hope that other parents agree that it is unacceptable for this to continue to be ignored by the Government. What could be more important than the education of our children?”