SCHOOLS in Devon will soon be seeing the impact of an estimated £3 billion shortfall in the government’s education budget by 2020, says the school leaders’ union NAHT.

It says these are the first real terms cuts to education spending since the 1990s.

The union says the picture is extremely bleak, with 98 per cent of schools set to lose funding, at a time when costs are rising and pupil numbers are growing.

It states: "Devon is likely to lose an average of £401 per pupil – a total of more than £35 million for the region as a whole.

"The impact on learning will be significant. Class sizes in primary schools could rise and some GCSE and A Level subjects could be cut from the curriculum entirely as school budgets are pushed beyond breaking point."

The union says the government is currently pushing ahead with a new formula to calculate funding levels for schools in England. It says whilst this is welcome, many voices in education believe that the £3 billion real terms funding shortfall will derail this process before it even gets started.

Russell Hobby, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “School budgets are being pushed beyond breaking point.

"The government’s £3 billion real terms cut to education funding must be reversed or we will see education and care suffer.

"Already heads are being forced to cut staff, cut the curriculum and cut specialist support. A new funding formula is the right thing to do, but it cannot be truly fair unless there is enough money to go round in the first place.”

NAHT is holding a series of national events to raise awareness amongst school leaders, governors and parents.

It will be meeting in Tiverton tomorrow, Tuesday, February 7, to spread the word in the hope that local pressure will force the government to explain its rationale for cutting the education budget at a time when the school population is rising and costs are going up.

Rupert Poole, principal, Queen Elizabeth’s School, Crediton, has urged parents to write to MP Mel Stride and Education Secretary, Justine Greening, with their concerns about the cuts.

Alan Quick