As Head Teachers, we feel it is our duty to provide parents with a clear and accurate view of school funding other than the misleading, over optimistic and often inaccurate picture described by the government. All state schools in England are funded by a central government grant that is administered by the Department for Education. This grant has not kept pace with inflation and schools across the Country are facing difficult decisions.

House of Commons Data, published by the government earlier this week, indicates that from 2014 to 2019, school funding for our schools has been cut by 1 million pounds for Copeland which is equal to an average of -£255 per pupil across our schools. As Head Teachers, collectively we are saying this is not good enough. For Arlecdon Primary this is £14,025, the cost of a teaching assistant.

With these cuts, schools across Copeland have been faced with some difficult choices. These include cutting back on:

Parent campaign groups are popping up all over the country. A recent Facebook Group has been set up in the north of the county, Carlisle Against School Cuts has formed (facebook.com/carlislecuts), alongside a website, to share information with parents and carers – www.carlislecuts.co.uk.

If you think this government should fund schools sufficiently and fairly, please show your support by adding your name to the petition ‘Increase Funding for Schools’, as well as encouraging your family and friends to do so via the link below:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/232220

Please be assured all school leaders are working extremely hard to minimise the impact of these cuts across Copeland

Thank you for your support.

Yours sincerely

Headteachers from: