AN EDUCATION campaign group has warned of “crumbling” schools and staff redundancies due to funding cuts.

Save Our Schools will lead the unfurling of 75 banners at schools across Brighton and Hove today slamming the billions of pounds slashed from school budgets since 2015.

Save Our Schools co-founder Alison Ali said: “Our message is simple, don’t believe the hype.

“Buildings are still crumbling, teachers and support staff are still losing their jobs and subjects are still vanishing.

“And who is suffering the most in all of this? Our children.

“They’re not receiving the education they deserve while the Government makes empty ‘jam tomorrow’ promises”.

The group claimed that schools are “facing cuts of £15.6 million this year” and said this figure “will almost double to £30 million by next year”.

The Conservative party recently announced its government would be “investing an extra £14 billion in schools.”

A spokesman said: “This cash boost means that every secondary school will receive a minimum of £5,000 per pupil next year and every primary school will get a minimum of £4,000 per pupil from 2021-22.

“The investment will help to give all young people the same opportunities to succeed, regardless of where they grow up or go to school.

“It will also bring the schools budget to £52.2bn in 2023.”

But Ms Ali said this was “too little too late” as schools are “still feeling the effects of an 8 per cent drop in funding per pupil between 2010 and 2018”.

She said: “In real terms this new announcement means 83 per cent of schools will still lose out next year because of government cuts.

“The cuts will effect children in 147 out of 150 local authorities in England and by 2023, schools will still be £3.6 billion short of what they need to provide a good education for all pupils.

“Also more than 16,000 schools will have less money per pupil in 2020 than they had in 2015 and the money promised by the Government will not come close to restoring school funding to 2010 levels.”

Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies - which aims to inform public debate on economics - labelled the funding hike as “somewhere between meaningless and misleading”.

The Save Our Schools banners will be on display outside 75 schools in Brighton and Hove and a further 10 schools in Worthing and Lewes.

Save Our Schools Brighton is also coordinating banner unfurls at an additional 250 schools across the country.

The banner in the city reads: “Brighton and Hove schools need funding now.

“(There has been) £15.6 billion in Government cuts since 2015.”

Ms Ali warned that “many schools are now closing early on Friday afternoons to meet their budgets”.

In July Brighton Kemptown Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle joined campaigners to oppose schools closing on Friday afternoons to save costs.

He said: “Schools I know across the city and the country are thinking about it and I think that is appalling. We are sacrificing children’s education here.”