School children playing in the playground
School children playing in the playground

Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South, has been conducting a survey of all schools in the area with the findings worrying.

Not a single respondent indicated that they were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with their school’s current funding situation.

Some respondents, identifying themselves as head teachers said that they expected to be running deficits in the coming years, with one claiming that they already were.

In response to the survey, Mr. Morgan said:

“The fact that 100% of respondents said that they have had to make cuts in multiple areas since 2015 is concerning.

Class sizes are getting bigger, teachers’ numbers are falling, and budgets have been slashed by £7.7bn in real terms since 2011.

I went through the Portsmouth state education system, the fact the future generations will not see an improvement is an indication that this government is failing.”

The survey, initiated by Mr. Morgan as part of his Portsmouth Against School Cuts campaign, identified SEND and other vulnerable children’s needs as causing significant strain on financial resources. 

A number of respondents claimed that the additional responsibilities that schools now hold is not taken into consideration by the government when considering school funding.

It has been widely reported that school staff, parents and philanthropists have been forced to donate funds to local schools, including in Theresa May’s own constituency.

The research confirms that Portsmouth has not been exempt from this plight. Almost half of those who took part stated that staff had provided resources at their own expense.

Most emphasised that this was optional and inconsequential, however, some respondents suggested that staff contributions were substantial, particularly in relation to books and equipment.

On this Mr. Morgan stated:

“With growing class sizes and less staff, we are demanding more from our teachers. The fact that they are now bearing the financial burden of this government’s refusal to properly fund schools in unacceptable. 

How can we expect to keep people in the teaching profession when the only reward they are receiving for hard work is harsher conditions?”

The survey results corroborate statistics relating to the nation as a whole, education spending as a share of GDP has fallen from 5.69 per cent to 4.27 per cent in 7 years.

Research suggests that Portsmouth is set to lose £3.7m of funding in the coming years, affecting over 50 schools in the city.

In response to these findings, Mr. Morgan organised a meeting with representatives from Portsmouth’s infant, junior, secondary and sixth form sectors and the Minister for School Standards, Rt. Hon. Nick Gibb MP last week.

The Portsmouth born MP remains committed to speaking up for Portsmouth schools and alerting the government to the consequences of their lack of respect for school funding. He has followed up the summit last week with Portsmouth school representatives with a letter to the Minister.

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