THE COUNCIL is calling on the Government to give Redbridge schools more money after head teachers claimed to be in crisis over funding cuts.

After a heated debate at a meeting last Thursday (June 22) it was agreed the borough’s chief executive Andy Donald will write to Education Secretary Justine Greening asking her to commit to more funding for schools in the borough.

According to statistics Redbridge is set to lose over £15 million in education funding by 2019 – the equivalent of £338 per pupil and 411 teacher jobs.

But when she visited Ilford North during the election campaign, Mrs Greening said “no school in the constituency would see their budget cut”.

Cllr Elaine Norman’s motion demanded the council ask the Secretary of State to reverse planned budget cuts and re-think the “fair funding formula”, which could see schools in Redbridge and other urban areas lose out on cash to those in historically worse-funded rural areas.

The cabinet member for children and young people said: “Redbridge head teachers feel strongly the current funding per pupil is inadequate.

“Our teachers deserve our support.

“It’s hard to believe the Government telling us schools have “never had it so good” with what are head teachers are saying.

“Who do you believe, politicians or the people who are actually educating our children?”

But Labour’s claims the fair funding formula could see £9.5 million cut from Redbridge school budgets and the Government is “squandering” £320 million nationwide on new free schools did not go down well with the Tories.

Conservative Cllr Emma Best branded Cllr Norman’s motion a “nasty, downright disrespectful attack” on free schools.

As a school governor herself, she claimed the motion was “statistically inaccurate and misguided in its approach”.

Her Church End ward colleague Cllr Tom McLaren agreed, stressing the only thing different thing about free schools is who runs them, and that they have the “same group of dedicated teachers” behind them as those run by the council.

Conservative group leader Cllr Paul Canal said the Labour motion “would achieve absolutely nothing” and it “looked like it had been written by Diane Abbott”.

Outside the town hall meeting Redbridge for Education campaigner Victoria Baskerville said she was encouraged by Labour’s support for struggling parents and head teachers.

The mother-of-two urged people to “keep the momentum going” to improve school budgets and will await Mrs Greening's reply.