• SCHOOLS in Islington are continuing to suffer because of Tory and coalition funding cuts.

Despite recent claims by the government, 96 per cent of schools in Islington will have less money per pupil in 2020, in real terms, than they had in 2015.

Worse, 58 per cent of schools in Islington are set to suffer further cuts in 2020. The average cut per pupil in Islington between 2015 and 2020-21 amounts to £444.

Just two examples of how funding cuts are affecting Islington schools are:

– Canonbury primary has been cut by an average £366 per pupil since 2015, which has badly affected the school.

– Class sizes are above average. Class sizes rose from 28.2 pupils per class in 2015 to 30.4 in 2018. Cuts are above average. Cuts are equal to the salaries of two teachers. Child poverty is above average.

St Mark’s CofE primary has been cut by an average £696 per pupil since 2015, which has badly affected the school.

Class sizes are above average. Class sizes rose from 26.6 pupils per class in 2015 to 28.6 in 2018. Cuts are above average. Cuts are equal to the salaries of two teachers. Child poverty is above average.

Analysis by the School Cuts campaign shows that nationally 83 per cent of schools will be worse off next year than they were in 2015. Despite the prime minister’s claims about “levelling up” school funding, the truth is stark.

The government’s announcement on school funding does not begin to introduce new money until next year. If there is an economic downturn there is no guarantee that these “promises” will be delivered.

This election is about more than Brexit. The school funding crisis is an issue that needs to be addressed by all candidates in the general election.

Parents, pupils and teachers are seeing every day the impact of the education funding crisis. Schools have been forced to shed staff, slash subjects, and cut resources, with many unable to afford even basics like glue sticks and toilet paper.

Yet this government continues to underfund and under-deliver on their responsibility to schools and the country’s children and young people. We need our next government to address the funding crisis and invest in this and future generations of young people.

TONY BUTTIFINT SECRETARY
KEN MULLER PRESS OFFICER
Islington National Education Union