A NORTH EAST headteacher last night warned budget cuts were taking schools "back to the 1980s" and feared the future of the education system was looking "bleak".

Kate Chisholm, a trustee at Schools North East and executive head teacher at Oakfield Infant and Junior Schools Federation in Gateshead, said a squeeze on school budgets had forced her to cut 18 staff members in three years at a previous school, and funding pressures in her current role were creating a "myriad of barriers" to children having a good education.

It comes as a teachers' union will today set out the devastating impact of funding cuts across the North East, with figures showing more than a third of schools have already had to make cuts to balance their budget this year, and 29 per cent predict they will be forced to make further cuts in the months ahead.

The costs associated with maintaining coronavirus safety controls was identified as a huge factor in school budgeting.

Ms Chisholm added: “I believe the future of the education system as we know it will be bleak indeed. You can’t have a platinum school provision from a cardboard funding system.”

 

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