Rebel head teachers shame Tories on education budget

A head teacher has organised a campaign to send letters to 2.5 million homes, warning that schools in England are under “massive duress” and need another £1bn in government funding.

Described by the BBC as a “relentless rebel”, Jules White of Tanbridge House School in Sussex is leading 4,000 other head teachers to by-pass politicians and appeal directly to families.

“This direct line to parents’ kitchen tables has put MPs under pressure,” the BBC says.

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Schools in 17 counties will post letters detailing the budget cuts that many schools in England currently face, The Daily Mail reports.

White told the BBC there is a lack of funding and not enough teachers: “It causes enormous anxiety and stress, trying to see how your school can run to the standards everyone expects.”

The government has set aside £42.4bn for schools for the year 2018-19, which is £1.3bn more than was originally promised for the two years to 2020, but the heads say it isn't enough.

White says there is a regional bias in distributing funds, noting that his annual budget is £6.7m, while an equivalent school in inner London could receive as much as £9.6m per year.

The letter will inform parents that some schools can afford class sizes of 20 but similar schools in other regions are forced to have classes of 35 pupils. More than one in three schools in England had an operating deficit last year, with hundreds more being forced to dip into their reserves for three or four years in a row, The Guardian reports.