Catholic headteacher joins others in call on Labour to give more funding to education

A Catholic headteacher from Liverpool has joined colleagues in highlighting “chronic underfunding” in education in Liverpool and calling for greater investment as the 2025 Labour Party conference takes place in the city.

A letter signed by 29 headteachers was sent to Chancellor Rachel Reeves ahead of the Labour Conference in Liverpool, which began on 28 September, complaining that schools in Liverpool have lost £52.3m in real terms since 2010, which has affected 86 per cent of schools in the area. The headteachers also called on Reeves to restore “the achievements of the last Labour government”.

“Years of chronic underfunding have brought our schools to a breaking point,” the teachers said, urging the Government to “give schools in Liverpool and across the country the funding we need so we can give this generation the education they deserve”.

Christopher Davey, headteacher of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Primary School in Aintree, Liverpool, who was one of the signatories, outlined his opposition to the cuts, saying: “Need cannot be met well enough, cuts are impacting quality of provision, progress and attainment as well as staff morale and wellbeing due to the gap constantly widening between needs, funding and external expectations and pressures.”

Blessed Sacrament Catholic Primary School describes itself as being “at the very heart of our local Catholic community”. Davey blasted the education cuts, calling them “devastating”.

The figures, which came from analysis by the Stop School Cuts Coalition, were rejected by the government, but Daniel Kebede, general secretary of teaching union NEU, backed Davey and the other Liverpool headteachers for “taking a stand” and urged Reeves to “restore funding for schools”.

Kebede said: “Headteachers are making heartbreaking choices about whether to cut subjects, staff or resources just to balance the books.

“It is great to see local heads taking a stand and saying enough is enough. It is time for the Chancellor to listen to educators and restore funding for schools.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said the government had “protected key education priorities” and had increased pupil premium, introduced free breakfast clubs and provided additional support for pupils in schools.

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