ON THE BBC Bradford on Avon head teacher and chairman of the Wiltshire Schools Forum, Neil Baker, said Wiltshire’s schools face a serious cash shortage.
Our schools have been caught in a perfect storm. The Conservative government demands £6m in savings while not providing our schools with the “fairer funding formula” promised in the Tory 2015 election manifesto. Taking with one hand and then taking with the other is simply not fair on Wiltshire’s children.
Currently Wiltshire’s schools get £5,202 a year for each student. This compares to £6,583 in Bristol and £10,524 in Hackney in London. In addition, inner city schools also receive more from the pupil premium, the additional language grant and special needs payments, which are higher in these areas. In fact, our schools get the second lowest level of funding in Britain.
The cuts mean that Wiltshire’s schools face the apprenticeship levy, changes to staff pension payments and the removal of the education support grant. Without the promised “fairer funding formula” this will hit Wiltshire’s schools and children hard.
Our schools face a future of staff redundancies, larger class sizes, reduced curriculum range, equipment shortages and falling building maintenance budgets. 
They deserve better than the Tories are providing. Wiltshire’s MPs must ensure the government keep their “fair funding” promise and do it fast. ‎Our teachers, parents and above all children deserve nothing less.
Dr Brian Mathew
Liberal Democrat Prospective MP for North Wiltshire