100 signatures reached
To: Chancellor Philip Hammond
#SOSCroydon: Save Our Schools
It's time school children in Croydon got the funding they deserve. Please support this petition urging the Chancellor to release new money for education in his Autumn Budget.
Why is this important?
Money for Croydon's school children has been squeezed and schools are reporting that they are now at breaking point.
Sarah Jones MP surveyed over 50 Croydon headteachers about funding and found:
- 96% of heads say funding is not enough
- 92% have had to cut staff numbers
- 85% have had to cut support for children with special needs
Nationally, £2.8bn has been cut from school budgets since 2015. Things in Croydon are even more difficult because schools receive thousands of pounds less per pupil than schools in neighbouring boroughs such as Lambeth. Croydon now has the highest number of schools in deficit than any London borough.
For two years, our schools have been struggling on, now they are starting to sink. The Chancellor has the opportunity to save our schools by releasing new money in his upcoming budget.
Earlier this summer, the Government announced that parts of the Department for Education budget would be cut so that money can be redistributed into frontline schools funding. But over the next two years schools will see funding increases capped at 3% per year, with some getting as low as 0.5%. If inflation stays at 3% per year, that means no school will get the 'real-terms' increase they need.
The Government found £1bn for the DUP within a week of the election - it's a scandal if they can't find any new money in the budget for our children's education. They deserve the best we can give them.
