Students, parents and staff of Tiverton schools gathered together on Saturday (21 April) to rally against budgets cuts to schools across the region.
The rally was part of the wider ‘School Cuts’ campaign, which aims to highlight the loss of funding to schools under the Government’s school funding proposal. According to the website, school budgets across the UK have already been cut by £2.8bn since 2015, with Devon schools facing a loss of £16.3m over the five years between 2015-2020.
Sammy Crook, Headteacher of Tiverton High School said: “Unfortunately at the start of this year we were forced to address a predicted budget deficit, due to rising costs and budget cuts. We have taken every step to ensure this doesn’t affect learning but it is inevitable that we will have to work in a different way to support our students, moving forward.
“It is brilliant to see so many people out today, raising awareness for the issues that schools not just in Tiverton, but across the whole region, are currently facing.”
Head of Primaries at Heathcoat and Rackenford Primary Schools, Jayne Keller, added: “We have been overwhelmed by the support and passion shown by parents, students, and staff, as well as members of the public in the face of the budget cuts to our schools.
“We have had to address spending across both primary schools, putting added pressure on already stretched budgets. The wellbeing of our students and staff is our upmost priority, and we will all continue to work together to ensure learning across Tiverton schools remains at the highest standards.”
The Federation of Tiverton Schools, which includes Tiverton High School, Heathcoat Primary School and Rackenford Primary School, have all been forced to address budget pressures this year.
Schools in Tiverton are not the only ones to face budget pressures in the region. A spokesperson from Devon County Council recently commented: “A number of other schools have also recently been through a redundancy or restructure process resulting in both voluntary and compulsory redundancies.”