Concern over reducing spending on pupils.
Birmingham Edgbaston MP, Preet Kaur Gill, has asked Schools Minister, Nick Gibb MP, to meet with local headteachers to hear first-hand how cuts to their budgets are affecting schools, staff and students.
Preet’s question followed her recent survey to all headteachers in Bartley Green, Edgbaston, Harborne and Quinton which exposed a number of areas of concern about the negative impact that budget cuts are having on education locally.
The survey revealed that a quarter of surveyed Edgbaston schools have had to make cuts to their SEN support and over half have had to cut spending on books and other essentials in response to the funding cuts they face.
Out of the 371 schools in Birmingham a staggering 365 face cuts with an average loss of £350 per pupil. In total, Birmingham schools have missed out on £147.9 million between 2015-19 – the amount needed to protect per pupil funding in real terms.
In the Department for Education Questions in Parliament today, Preet said: “In a recent survey I sent out to schools in my constituency, 82% had had their school’s budget cut in real terms for the current academic year and 88% were pessimistic about their funding over the next three years. Will the Minister meet with me and some of the headteachers from my constituency to discuss these findings in more detail including the implications of this governments cuts on our children and young people?”
The Schools Minister failed to respond to Preet’s offer to meet with herself and headteachers to discuss these cuts.
