Schools In Crisis

9.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 9th Sep 2003

Sarah Teather is fighting to improve local schools

The schools funding crisis is getting worse. At least 1000 teaching posts have been lost and more than 800 teachers have been made redundant, a survey by The Guardian has revealed.

Labour run Brent Council refused to answer most of the questions in the survey. However, local campaigner Sarah Teather has been contacted by several concerned parents about problems in our area.

Sarah Teather has now written to every local school to find out just how bad things are.

Sarah said, "The situation is nothing short of a disgrace. Teacher vacancies are at record levels and the funding crisis seems to be getting worse."

Teather calls for action

Sarah Teather and the Lib Dems are demanding action from the Government to end the funding crisis which has been going on for six months.

Sarah said, "Labour ministers have tried blaming everyone else for this mess, but it is a crisis made in Whitehall. How can schools be short of money, when the Department for Education underspent its budget last year by over a billion pounds? This is nothing short of incompetence."