91% of schools across the country are facing government cuts to their budgets. Portsmouth schools will have lost over £3million under this Tory Government by 2019. These funding cuts to education are biting hard:

• Class sizes are increasing
• Support staff have been axed
• Experienced teachers are leaving the profession
• Schools are asking parents for money for vital materials

Over the next 3 years 50 out of 56 Portsmouth schools will continue to face crippling budget  cuts (Schoolcuts.org.uk)

Schools in our city are being left behind, yet the Prime Minister continues to recycle her line claiming the opposite. She’s said that the amount of money in schools was greater than ever before, a claim refuted by the NEU, NAC, and NUT.

Portsmouth South MP and Councillor for Charles Dickens ward Stephen Morgan said:

‘Her Education Secretary has already been reprimanded by the statistics watchdog for saying school spending is going up – just because you repeat something doesn’t make it true.

But Portsmouth’s teachers and parents know the reality of the Tories failure to invest in our children’s futures, and they deserve better.’

Amanda Martin, NUT Executive Member for Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth & Southampton said:

‘The Government’s real-terms cuts to education funding have seen £2.8 billion cut from school budgets since 2015.

The Prime Minister is wrong on the facts. She must address the funding crisis urgently and not continue to ignore these very real problems.’

And the latest available data from the Trussell Trust, says that there are also approximately 40,000 children in the South East reliant on food banks.

Mr Morgan asked the PM: ‘If the Prime Minister was a teacher who’d been under a pay cap for 8 years, what would she buy a struggling child in one of my city’s classrooms – a text book or a square meal?’

All this, while nationally the Tories:

• continue to pour money into free schools
• want to bring back grammar schools

Labour will focus on what matters most – caring for our children and driving up the quality of teaching in our classrooms.

JOIN US IN SUPPORT OF THE NEU SCHOOL CUTS WEEKEND OF ACTION 21st/22nd APRIL ‘Create a noise so loud that no one can ignore what’s happening to our schools.’