Teachers have been forced to forage in skips to find wood for pupils to work on in design and technology classes as savage funding cuts leave schools bereft of basic materials, according to testimony sent to MPs.
The “alarming” impact cuts are having has been highlighted by teachers, headteachers and support staff across England who have contacted hundreds of MPs on the issue.
It comes as an online petition calling for more cash for schools attracted more than 100,000 signatures, triggering a debate in parliament.
A separate survey from the Commons’ Petitions Committee reveals that more than nine in ten (92 per cent) teachers have paid for resources for pupils from their own pocket – including food, stationery and sanitary products.
The poll, of more than 200 teachers, found only 10 per cent were confident that their school will have enough money to maintain current standards over the next five years.
Ahead of the debate in Westminster, the National Education Union (NEU) said nearly 500 MPs in England have been contacted by their members, who have set out the consequences of funding cuts.
One teacher from Diss in Norfolk told their MP: “I am having problems even getting a request for basic equipment such as glue sticks to be approved these days.
“I have pupils making GCSE projects from wood I have salvaged from skips and redundant pallets.”
Another teacher, from Skipton, said her department did not have enough money to buy whiteboard pens. She added: “It is shocking how much of our own salary is spent on classroom resources.”
And one teacher in Lincoln said schools were “dirty” because they could not afford proper cleaning and cuts have meant schools are barely able to afford photocopying.
School spending per pupil has fallen by 8 per cent in real terms since 2010 amid increased cost pressures, according to the latest analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
The online petition, started by headteachers in Gateshead, says: “All schools are working very hard to ‘make ends meet’ but this is becoming increasingly difficult and verging on almost impossible.”
It adds parents are being increasingly asked to pay for books and materials due to a squeeze on budgets, and schools are having to cut teachers, subjects and support for vulnerable pupils – including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
It came as three families who are challenging the government’s funding policy for children with SEND have been told their challenge will be heard in the High Court in June this year.
Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU, called the funding cuts to schools and colleges “entirely unacceptable”, adding that the “real losers” were the children and young people.
She added: “Education is one of the most important things a government can provide for its citizens, and currently it is failing miserably in its duty.”
In response to the petition, the Department for Education (DfE) said: “We recognise schools are facing budgeting challenges and we are asking them to do more. We have increased funding by an extra £1.3bn across this year and next, over and above previous spending plans.”
