Parents from schools across Kingston have joined headteachers in calling for “urgent” changes to national funding and teacher recruitment.

Britt Armstrong Gash, co-chair of the PTA at Coombe Hill Junior School, has set up an online petition in support of the borough’s headteachers, who last month sent an open letter to Downing Street criticising its school funding policy.

It claimed that unfunded pay rises, cuts to grants and a reduction in agency support had left schools in Kingston and Richmond at a “tipping point” due to a series of "stealth cuts".

From November 2016: 'Schools will implode': New Malden headteacher warns of job losses as Kingston schools prepare to rally against Government 'stealth cuts'

Richard Challoner headteacher Sean Maher, who penned the letter, said that an unfair funding structure had left outer London boroughs such as Kingston facing increased pressures.

The petition has gathered more than 1,000 signatures.

It says: “As parents, we want to show support and stand with our head teachers, in the boroughs of Kingston and Richmond, in the concerns they have openly shared about funding and teacher recruitment. 

“We call for the government to urgently address these concerns before there is a lasting negative impact on the education of children.”

Your Local Guardian:

Sean Maher, headteacher at Richard Challoner School, sent a letter to Downing Street last month

Last month, Education Secretary Justine Greening announced a new ‘fairer funding formula’, aimed at providing 10,000 schools additional funding. The formula will not be introduced until 2018.

Ms Greening told MPs the current system is “unfair, opaque and outdated.”

The petition claims to have the backing of numerous PTAs across Kingston and Richmond, including Kings Oak Primary School, King Athelstan Primary School, Burlington Junior School, Church New Malden Primary School and Grey Court School amongst others.

Sign the petition at change.org.