Parents and pupils from schools across Wandsworth will be marching on Friday 26th May as part of a national day of action against cuts to school funding.

“Schools in Wandsworth face over £18m in cuts in real terms over the next three financial years,” said Mandie Gower, a spokesman for Fair Funding for All Schools, Wandsworth, “that’s equivalent to £715 per pupil, or 492 teachers’ salaries across the Borough. That could mean each of Wandsworth’s 66 schools losing more than seven teachers on average.”

Parents representing Furzedown, Ravenstone, Sellincourt, Hillbrook, Fircroft, Telferscot, Henry Cavendish, Rutherford House, Alderbrook, Eardley, Penwortham Primary Schools, Balham Nursery, and Graveney and Chestnut Grove Secondary Schools will march from their school playgrounds after school to Tooting Common, assembling near the café. On arrival, each school will add its signature to a mock school report on Conservative plans for school funding.

The National Audit Office, Institute for Fiscal Studies and MPs on the cross-party Public Accounts Committee have all drawn attention to the fact that real-terms cuts in per pupil funding, combined with sharp increases in unfunded costs, have left schools facing a £3bn national shortfall by 2020 – requiring schools to make cuts of 8 per cent to balance their books.

Jane Wake, a Wandsworth parent with a son at Graveney School, said, “"My son is diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and his school is doing everything they can, under an already tight budget,  to support him. The cuts will effect all children but will have a disproportionate effect on children like my son who simply can't get by without the right, skilled support. This skilled support in the form of dedicated teachers is already being stretched to ridiculous levels. We are already  losing these amazing teachers due to the pressure they face. The cuts therefore will seriously impact on the lives of individuals who have an absolute right to better care and support. I.e. It's going to hit those who need it most. " 

Rebecca Wilson, a spokesman for Fair Funding for All Schools, Wandsworth said, “We welcome the fact all parties in the General Election are recognising that there is a real and present crisis hitting our schools. Labour and the Liberal Democrats have both pledged that school budgets will not be hit in real terms, but the Conservative manifesto promises would still result in a 3% cut in school budgets. Our teachers need to be able to teach, not to worry about where paper and pencils are coming from, or worrying about who is going to pay for repairs to school buildings. Anything less than a maintenance of per pupil funding in real terms over the next five years is unacceptable, and we will be using today’s event to keep up the pressure and make our voices heard.”

Keep up to date with the campaign’s activities at: www.fairfundingforallschools.org and locally on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fairfundwands, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fairfundwands and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/fairfundswandsworth.