Headteacher predicts rush to independent sector

Governors at dozens of West Sussex schools wrote to their MPs warning they were thinking of withdrawing their services over the ongoing funding crisis.

Kathryn Bell, head of Burgess Hill Girls, said an increasing number of families who had traditionally educated their children in the state sector were opting for independent schools as the funding crisis deepened.

Mrs Bell added she had enormous sympathy for the predicament in which local schools found themselves, and said: "We are all part of the same local education economy, and of course independent schools are also faced with rising costs.

"But in the independent sector we are very fortunate to have the freedom to allocate funds where they make most difference to the quality of the education we offer to local families.

"And that is invariably in the quality - and quantity - of teaching staff.

"Our big advantage is that we’re not reliant on 'big brother' in the shape of the Department of Education to tell us what we can spend or how we can spend it."

As well as the threatened action from school governors, head teachers have repeatedly warned the government they face increased class sizes and a reduction in school hours as they attempt to make their budgets stretch.

In addition, spending watchdog the National Audit Office has warned schools nationwide face £3bn in spending cuts by 2020.

Mrs Bell said the warnings were having an impact on parents’ perceptions of local education and that a growing number of Burgess Hill Girls’ parents were "dipping their toe" in the independent school sector.

She said Burgess Hill Girls was a school with many 'first-time buyers, with many families who had assumed an independent school education was out of their reach now changing their minds.

She added: "We are getting enquiries from local parents who have until now educated their children in the state sector - and who attended state schools themselves - but are very concerned about the impact of cuts and the proposed new funding formula on the quality of education."

- Dr Ranj from CBeebies will be hosting a Q&A on session children’s health at Burgess Hill Girls' open day on March 4.

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