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Head teachers' polite protest over funding in England | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
"Relentlessly reasonable" is an unusual rally cry - but this was no ordinary demonstration. | |
Hundreds of head teachers - the men in smart suits, the women in business wear - came to Westminster to make their point about school funding in England. | |
Ripples of applause filled Parliament Square - their meeting point and the scene of many a demonstration over the decades. | |
"Don't be chaining yourselves to the railings now ladies," someone joked. | |
It was clear that these protesters, passionate though they may be, would not have dreamt of it. | |
The gathering had more of an air of a collegiate conference than a demonstration. | |
"We're all a long way out of our comfort zone," one head teacher said. | |
"We asked each other on the bus if anyone had ever been to a protest before and nobody had," another added a little sheepishly. | |
The participants may have felt cheerful, and maybe little awkward, but the mood was nonetheless serious. | |
One head teacher from Suffolk told how she had been bitten by a pupil this week. | |
"It wasn't his fault. It was because of a situation outside of school, and his emotional support had been cut two weeks earlier because of the cuts." | |
She could not give her name in case the pupil was identified, but she added: "We have children who are distressed and angry and we can't help them." | |
Another Suffolk head teacher, Kelly Head from Springfield Infants School, said: "It's head teachers here protesting because there's no one left. | |
"We are using people left, right and centre to cover all sorts of jobs in schools. There's no one left." | |
The organisers of this grassroots protest highlight Institute of Fiscal Studies' claim that per pupil funding has fallen 8% in real terms since 2010. | |
Their budgets have been squeezed by unfunded pay rises, national insurance payments, other cost pressures and rising pupil numbers. | |
'Heart-breaking decisions' | |
Others point to problems with England's new funding formula, which had been introduced to even out the amount which different local authorities receive per pupil. | |
Tony Markham, head teacher of Herne Junior School in Petersfield, Hampshire, told how his budget will be £250,000 in deficit by 2020-21. | |
The county has one of the lowest per pupil funding rates in the country, despite the new formula. | |
Ella Palmer, head of a school in Alton, Hampshire, said her school had been using money from its capital budget to fund laptops. | |
But these were now 14 years old, and the capital funding had been cut from £25,000 to £5,000 a year. | |
Another Hampshire head, Joe Ayres, said: "There just isn't enough money to do what we need to do." | |
Ms Head added: "It's heart-breaking because the decisions we are beginning to have to make are about reducing social care and mental health support." | |
The government insists school funds will rise to a record £43.5bn by 2020 and that a new funding formula is bringing bring more cash to schools. | |
National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) leader Paul Whiteman said head teachers were not really "the marching type" and if they were protesting, something must be "seriously wrong". | |
This is the latest push in a campaign by school leaders to highlight the dangers of budget shortfalls and the different funding levels between schools. | This is the latest push in a campaign by school leaders to highlight the dangers of budget shortfalls and the different funding levels between schools. |
Education Secretary Damian Hinds has recognised that funding is one of the biggest concerns in his brief. | Education Secretary Damian Hinds has recognised that funding is one of the biggest concerns in his brief. |
A Department for Education spokesman said: "There is more money going into schools than ever before, rising to a record £43.5bn by 2020 - 50% more in real terms per pupil than in 2000. | A Department for Education spokesman said: "There is more money going into schools than ever before, rising to a record £43.5bn by 2020 - 50% more in real terms per pupil than in 2000. |
"Every school attracts more funding per pupil through the National Funding Formula, high needs funding has risen to over £6bn this year, and the 3.5% pay rise we announced for classroom teachers on the main pay range is backed by £508m government funding. | "Every school attracts more funding per pupil through the National Funding Formula, high needs funding has risen to over £6bn this year, and the 3.5% pay rise we announced for classroom teachers on the main pay range is backed by £508m government funding. |
"We know that we are asking schools to do more, which is why we are helping them to reduce the £10bn spent each year on non-staffing costs, providing government-backed deals for things like printers and energy suppliers that are helping to save millions of pounds." | "We know that we are asking schools to do more, which is why we are helping them to reduce the £10bn spent each year on non-staffing costs, providing government-backed deals for things like printers and energy suppliers that are helping to save millions of pounds." |
But Stockport head teacher, Jim Nicholson, said he was fed up with hearing this government line. | |
"We have seen how our colleagues are having to lay off staff and our vulnerable pupils are not getting support. | |
"We'd all rather be back in school teaching. But we've had enough," he added. | |
The head teachers taking part in the protest are from areas including: | The head teachers taking part in the protest are from areas including: |
Blackpool • Bolton • Brighton and Hove • Buckinghamshire • Cambridgeshire • Cheshire • Cornwall • Cumbria • Derbyshire • Devon • Dorset • Dudley, West Midlands • East Sussex • Essex • Gloucestershire • Greenwich • Hampshire • Hertfordshire • Kent • Kingston-upon-Thames • Lancashire • Liverpool • London • Norfolk • Northampton • Oxfordshire • Peterborough • Poole • Portsmouth • Richmond • Rotherham • Sheffield • Slough • Solihull, West Midlands • Somerset • Southend • Southampton • Staffordshire • Suffolk • Surrey • Thurrock • Walsall • Warrington • West Berkshire • West Sussex • Wigan • Wiltshire • Wokingham, Berkshire • Wolverhampton • Worcestershire |