‘In a budget of winners and losers, Labour must not let schools come last’

Every day, I see the impact of funding cuts in classrooms. And the numbers are sobering.

Schools in England have £4.5 billion less in funding than they did in 2010. 74% of schools across the country have seen cuts, and over 3,000 of those schools have lost more than £1,000 for every pupil who walks through their doors.

The children who are leaving school today have known nothing but cuts. If this goes on, our country will be letting down the next generation of pupils too.

Headteachers have rebalanced budgets, shaved costs and made impossible choices again and again to keep our schools running.

They’ve told me about how many of their staff are leaving the profession. How it’s impossible to recruit. They’ve sent photos of leaky roofs and crumbling walls. And shared heartbreaking stories about being unable to provide the level of SEND support their pupils need to learn.

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Some of these headteachers have been pushed so far to the brink that they’ve left the profession. Their parting words? The situation in our schools is: “Suffocating.” “At breaking point.” “We’re financially on our knees.”

For many of us in education, our jobs are more than jobs. They are a duty to the future leaders of tomorrow. It’s a joy to see pupils grow and learn.

Yet teachers are working longer days, and going into their own pockets for supplies. Heads are covering for low staffing levels, doing double-duty as cleaners and lollipop people on top of their already packed days.

All of the goodwill and hard work in the world cannot make up for a lack of basic resources and less money.

Goodwill cannot hire more teachers or support staff, fix a broken toilet block or bring back the subjects we’ve been forced to cut from the curriculum because of inadequate funding from successive governments.

It’s affecting small rural schools and big city schools. Primaries and secondaries. Towns in the north and south of England, and everywhere in between.

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Making hard choices is a part of governing. But children cannot be left at the sharp end of those hard choices.

Selling education short is a budget decision that will only hurt this country in the long run. If we are looking to the future, we must give every child the foundation they need to become adults. Building the confidence to succeed, adapt and pursue opportunities in our changing world is a worthy objective that needs proper funding.

Since the Prime Minister has taken office, he has spoken convincingly of the need for a “complete rethink” of our comprehensive state school system. Our education system badly needs that circuit breaker.

I know that we won’t fully reverse school cuts overnight. But schools need room to breathe. Room to begin repairing facilities, fill gaps in staffing, and start healing the damage done by 16 years of cuts.

From the headteachers that have less funding, and from the thousands of parents and educators who stand with them, our message is simple: Restoring school funding must start at this Autumn Budget. Schools cannot afford another generation of cuts.

From France to Spain to Portugal, we’ve seen a wave of protests about the dire state of school funding. Here in England, this crisis hits close to home.

Prime Minister Burnham, the choice is yours.

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