Union says schools need donations to pay 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.

A poll of more than 1,000 members of the school leaders’ union NAHT in England found that 95 per cent of leaders have had to generate additional income through other sources – such as charity grants and fundraising – to cover basic costs for core resources.

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.

The poll, carried out between April 10 and 23, found only one per cent said they 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 teaching staff, classroom materials and play equipment at a time when many families are “struggling”.

Some 53 per cent of school leaders said they have had to generate additional income to cover costs of classroom materials, while 24 per cent had to do this to cover staffing costs.

And 69 per cent needed to raise additional income to fund play equipment and extra-curricular activities, while 37 per cent had to raise funds to cover estate management and building repairs, the poll found.

The findings have been published ahead of the NAHT’s annual conference in Newport, South Wales, on Friday and Saturday, when members will debate a series of issues, including funding.

Sean Maher, headteacher at Richard Challoner School, a secondary school in Kingston-upon-Thames, London, said the school relied on contributions of around £45,000 a year from fundraising by the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and £35,000 from parents to help pay for equipment, resources and repairs.

He said: “Without the money raised through lettings and other income and from the PTA and parents we could not run the staffing model that we do or afford all the equipment and resources we need for our pupils.”

Mr Maher added: “I’ve never known the budget situation so dire. Everywhere you look there’s a squeeze on funding.

“We’ve already cut admin staff to the bone and we’ve had to lose four teaching assistants and three teachers over the last two years.

“Sometimes that means existing teachers have to take on more, sometimes we have to make changes to the curriculum which may mean it is not quite as broad and balanced.

“It’s an unacceptable situation and these decisions are not in children’s best interests. It’s becoming harder to maintain our status as an excellent school.”

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