A NORTHWICH headteacher fears children could soon receive a ‘bargain basement education’ and says he may have to make staff redundant if the government doesn’t improve school funding.

Simon Kidwell, head at Hartford Manor Primary School and Nursery, says his school faces an £80,000 shortfall due to having to find money to fund staff pay rises, coupled with cost-of-living rises.

Pay for most teachers in England is rising by five per cent this year but it has to be paid for out of each school’s own budget. Funding the rise for Hartford Manor’s 65 eligible staff will equate to around £70,000.

As a result, the school may have to make savings which could include narrowing down the amount of time children go to swimming lessons as well as cutting back on curriculum resources. Capital investment in the school building may also have to be shelved.

Mr Kidwell, who is also vice-president of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), said the situation is widely replicated around the country.

He said: “We’re putting on hold any capital spending but ultimately, you cannot sustain those sorts of pressures on a school budget without reducing the amount of staff that work in school."

As well as teachers, the pay rises also include support staff. He said three members of support staff have already left because they can’t afford to work there, and fears he may have to make redundancies next year if things don’t improve.

He added: “I think we can ride it this year without going into a deficit. But the following year, if we don't get additional support from the government we will have to make staffing reductions.”

The funding situation is compounded by the impact of cost of living pressures on parents too. The amount of money raised by the school’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA) has halved from £20,000 to £10,000, money which was spent on things such as the school playground.

Mr Kidwell - who has worked in education for 28 years and been a headteacher for 18 - says the situation is as bad as he’s ever known it. He added: “If we don’t get additional support we’re heading for a bargain basement education.

“We won’t be able to offer support for children with special needs, we won’t be able to offer after school clubs. We’ll be looking at a very basic education if we don’t get that support.”

A spokeswoman for the Department for Education, said: “We are supporting schools with £53.8 billion this year in core funding, which includes a cash increase of £4 billion, and continue to work with the sector to understand pressures.

“We know that every school’s circumstance is different, and where schools are in serious financial difficulty, they should contact their local authority or the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

“All schools will benefit from the Energy Price Guarantee, which commences on October 1 and will be available until at least March 31 next year.

“This will cap how much schools need to spend on their energy, giving them greater certainty over their budgets over the winter months.”