A campaign launch went off with a bang this week as 150 concerned parents and school staff from all political parties united against school funding cuts.

The meeting, held at Furzedown School on April 25, launched the Stop the Education Cuts campaign that aims to prevent the Government’s proposed Fair Funding Formula (FFF), which they say will result in many London schools losing financial aid.


Chaired by teacher Jan Nielson and attended by the general secretary of the National Union of Teachers Kevin Courtney and the Tooting MP Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, the meeting included issues such as cuts to staff members, the loss of creative subjects in favour purely ‘academic’ ones and forgoing class trips.

Mother-of-two Dr Allin-Khan said it was “dangerous” to play with children’s futures while Kevin Courtney described the cuts as “unacceptable”.

He said: “The parents were angry about the cuts that will affect their children's education and were planning campaign steps to put pressure on all candidates in the run-up to the general election.

“I think these parents are a force to be reckoned with and their campaign can help stop the cuts to schools in Wandsworth and elsewhere.”

Dr Allin-Khan added: “Staff moral shouldn’t be so low. Head teachers shouldn’t have to choose between special needs teachers and school trips.

“We need to invest in our children. They deserve the best possible start in life.”

The proposals for the FFF, which would result in school funding spread more equally across the UK, have been met with wide spread disapproval as some schools need more funding than others.

The official Government projections, if the plans go ahead, show 61 out of 66 Wandsworth schools will experience a funding reduction of 1.84 per cent by 2019, which equates to around £2 million.

However, according to figures released by the NUT, Wandsworth schools could be set to “lose £15,612,273 by 2020” which they say is the equivalent of losing 419 teachers or £603 per pupil.

In March, Wandsworth Council called on the Government to have a “serious rethink” so that London schools are not penalised by the cuts.

A Stop School Funding Cuts petition has reached nearly 40,000 supporters.