Richard Slade — headteacher at Plumcroft Primary School in Greenwich — is listing some of the heartbreaking decisions he’s had to make as a result of crippling real terms school budget cuts: reducing the quantity and quality of school trips; not being able to replace classroom iPads when they break; buildings and playground equipment falling into disrepair; and — most tragically yet — not being able to replace a senior teacher who recently died of cancer because the alternative would be to let vulnerable children go unsupported.
The father of four is exhausted. He started the job in 2010 and, while money has never been plentiful in education, he at least had sufficient funding back then to supplement the curriculum with so-called “extras” such as visits from musicians, additional tutoring and anti-obesity projects. He’s reached the point where there simply isn’t enough money to deliver the day-to-day basics of education, and it’s risking children’s safety.
