School in Theresa May’s constituency begs parents to buy toilet roll, pens and pencils

A school has put together a ‘wish list’ for parents to help purchase supplies including pens, pencils and toilet paper.

St Edmund Campion Catholic Primary School on Altwood Road, sent a link to the list of 17 items to parents on Monday.

The school, which has 363 children on its register and is in Theresa May’s constituency, also included requests for blu-tack, cellotape and A3 paper, with the list adding a ‘never-ending supply’ of toilet paper was required.

Catherine del Campo wrote on Twitter: ‘In your constituency, @theresa-may, a school not just asking parents for extras, but basic essentials.

As well as loo roll, I’ve sent some plasters. ‘I thought about sending some to @DamianHinds too, but they didn’t have one big enough for the gaping hole in the education budget.’

School in Theresa May's constituency begs parents to buy toilet roll, pens and pencils

PICTURED: Pupils at St Edmund Campion Catholic Primary School Maidenhead with the supplies needed for the school. A primary school in Prime Minister Theresa May's constituency is so short of cash due to Government funding cuts it is now 'begging for toilet paper'. St Edmund Campion Catholic Primary School sent a desperate email to parents with a link to their Amazon 'Wish List' page, asking for them to buy essential items it cannot afford. The school in Maidenhead, Berks, has received devastating cuts in the last year - including losing out on a ?70,000 grant - and is uncertain it will be able to operate after the next two years. Parents are growing increasingly concerned and one says she was 'shaken and nearly in tears' after discovering the school is 'begging for toilet paper'. ? Baylis Media/Solent News & Photo Agency UK +44 (0) 2380 458800

The school told the paper that it had lost £70,000 after the Government decided to reduce the Education Services grant.

Announcing the new funding formula last July, then education secretary Justine Greening said the current system was ‘unfair’, adding: ‘The national funding formula will deliver higher per pupil funding in respect of every school, and in every local area.’

The schools business manager said they weren’t the only place doing it. She said: ‘This should all be dealt with by the Government, but unfortunately it is not. What they are providing is inadequate.

‘St Edmund’s costs have increased and yet our funding has gone down. We’ll get less in the 2018-19 year than we did in 2017-18. Luckily we have a fantastic support network of parents.

‘I think it’s the same in any school, having to manage finances carefully and we have to consider all of our expenditure.

‘It is so we can continue to provide an excellent education for the children. We are lucky here, many schools are having to cut back. It’s all voluntary here, nothing will ever be compulsory.

‘I saw the idea for the wish list somewhere else and when I suggested it, there was no resistance from the headteacher, Patricia Opalko.

‘The only feedback we have had from the parents was positive. We sent out the list on Monday and on Tuesday we had a big box arrive. ‘We’ve had people buy toilet rolls, Blu-Tack, pens, just things on the list..

It’s probably something we will keep doing. ‘There will be a time when we start looking at resources for next year and some of them are not cheap. We need these things to be able to teach the children.’