Ashfield schools 'millions of pounds poorer' than in 2015

New figures sourced from the Department for Education into school funding forecasts that £16 million will have been cut from school funding in Ashfield by the start of the 2020-21 academic year.

The figures suggest 97 per cent of schools in the district will be more worse off than they were five years ago – with most losing hundreds of thousands in funding.

Kirkby’s Ashfield School is the worst affected in the figures, with a loss of about £3.6 million, while secondary schools across the district lost an average of £1m each.

Figures for the district’s primary schools also show losses, with Brierley Forest Primary School in Sutton losing £375,000 and Abbey Hill Primary School in Kirkby losing about £420,000 during the same period.

Councillor Jason Zadrozny, Ashfield District Council leader, urged the government to “act” and stop “wielding an axe to our children’s futures”.

He said: “Our schools are under huge pressures with growing numbers of pupils and rising costs.

“Our class sizes are now the largest in the western world because the government is taking millions of pounds out of our schools.

“It’s a staggering amount which means hardworking teachers are buying resources from their own money.

“With the best will in the world, the quality of education they can deliver is reducing at a scale that our young people may simply never recover.”

Councillor Philip Owen, chairman of the education committee on Nottinghamshire County Council, the local education authority, said: "“We are looking closely at the source data and information to make sure parents are presented with validated and accurate information to draw their own conclusions.

“We can assure parents across Nottinghamshire that we are always the first in the queue to lobby for additional funding from the government.

“We take our duty to provide a quality education to every child in our county extremely seriously.”

No schools were available for comment due to half term.

The Department for Education has been approached for comment.

To see how your child’s school is affected, see schoolcuts.org.uk/schools