We need an extra £18m, plead heads

The 25-strong group of upper school head teachers will tomorrow hold an unprecedented press conference to demand more cash for schools from Bradford Council.

It is the same day parents of 40,000 upper school pupils will receive a letter from head teachers spelling out their grave concerns about the underfunding of education.

"We are saying to councillors that if you want higher academic standards in school you must give us more money," said Alan Hall, head teacher at Belle Vue Girls School.

"The central issue for standards in Bradford is about funding," said John Patterson, head teacher at Bingley Grammar School.

"Everybody is beating their breasts and saying why are standards low in Bradford and we are saying that it is related to funding."

On Friday, the T&A reported how head teachers felt driven to the unheard of measure of taking their fight to get more money into schools directly to parents.

They cite facts such as:

l the money Bradford puts into schools places it 134th out of 150 local authorities;

l the average amount per pupil Bradford puts into schools is £1,733 compared with Leeds, where the figure is £1,919 and Birmingham, where it is £2,109;

l Bradford spends £6.4 million less than the Government says it ought to on education - the worst in the country.

A central problem, the head teachers claim is that the Council keeps back a third of its education budget to pay for central services, like staffing support, special educational needs provision and advisers.

But education chiefs have already argued that they are not neglecting education. Education committee chairman Councillor Jim Flood said the service had benefited from higher spending in that schools were getting an extra £2 million this year and would get more in future.

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