LEADING teaching unions are meeting this Easter weekend with a strong message that our schools are in financial crisis.

The National Union of Teachers general secretary Kevin Courtney said: “Funding is going to be a theme that dominates the conference.

“In schools around the country class sizes are going up. We are seeing arts, dance drama and music being cut. Vocational education is being cut.

“We are seeing schools around the country sending letters to parents asking for money on a regular basis to make up for the the gap that the Government is leaving in school budgets.”

A pretty damming verdict from the union.

The Department for Education, however, insists that schools in England are funded at record levels and that its investment will rise as pupil numbers rise.

So what is the reality here in Sussex?

There is no doubt that schools are struggling – some more than others – to make ends meet.

They are having to look at every line of expenditure, some perhaps for the first time in many years.

Schools in this day and age are businesses.

The most popular schools will have the most students and each pupil is worth a certain amount of funding each year, around £4,000.

So the less popular schools are obviously more likely to miss out.

Headteachers are having to be financially-minded as well as focusing on teaching and learning and all aspects of school life.

Yes, times are tough for schools, but they are tough for other public services as well.