Jess Phillips posts string of tweets to Theresa May and Damian Hinds over early Friday closure

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The Labour MP Jess Phillips has demanded that Theresa May and the education secretary, Damian Hinds, explain why her son’s primary school is to close early on Fridays in order to save money.

In a string of tweets the Birmingham Yardley MP suggested that May and the Department for Education should take responsibility for the pupils involved, and threatened a protest by parents.

Jess Phillips (@jessphillips) Dear @DamianHinds and @theresa_may cheers for this. Here is an email from my son's school I just received. #welcometomyworld pic.twitter.com/ufu66fu4Lo

“I’d like to once again invite @theresa_may to come to my constituency, if she could come on a Friday and pick my son up from school at 1pm as his school can’t afford to stay open. In fact I think I’ll leave him on the steps of @10DowningStreet”, Phillips tweeted.

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“Every parent whose children’s school shuts early on a Friday how about I get some coaches and we can leave our kids one Friday afternoon in the foyer of the @educationgovuk Up for it?”

Phillips is one of the growing number of parents affected by schools closing early to save money, as governors and headteachers say budget cuts and staff shortages mean they have few alternatives.

Last month Vale View primary school in Greater Manchester also announced it was to close early on Fridays from September in order to save £100,000, in what teaching unions said was a sign that schools were “at absolute breaking point”.

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Phillips posted a letter from her son’s school to parents, which explained: “We are proposing to close early to pupils on Fridays (1pm), with effect from September 2019. This measure will mean that we can make savings by reducing the numbers of teachers employed by the school and reducing hours worked by support staff.”

The school added: “I deeply regret the negative impact of this proposed measure on pupils, staff and families, an impact which is being experienced by a growing number of schools in our city.”

At least 15 primary schools in Birmingham have announced early closures, making it the worst-affected local authority in the country. About 25 to 30 schools in England have announced early closures since 2017, although some have later backed down after protests from parents.

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Phillips also tweeted at the chancellor, Philip Hammond: “Dear @PhilipHammondUK #fuckyourlittleextras”, the hashtag a reference to Hammond’s controversial comments that extra funds for schools in last year’s budget were for “little extras”.

Phillips also threatened to approach the Equality and Human Rights Commission over the school’s announcement that it was “having to consider stopping our provision for children with complex needs … This is devastating to consider as this provision is absolutely central to the school’s ethos but we are no longer able to subsidise the shortfall in funding for it from our main school budget.”

Jess Phillips (@jessphillips) Oh while I'm here @DamianHinds @theresa_may feel like a report to @EHRC coming on from the same email from my son's school #fuckyourlittleextras pic.twitter.com/7MlIeknuKU

Phillips concluded: “I’m guessing my Tory colleagues kids schools are not so similar[ly] crippled that they can only stay open 4.5 days a week.”

A spokesperson for the DfE said schools were able to make “reasonable” changes to their timetables so long as parents were consulted in advance to make alternative childcare arrangements.

“While there is more money going into our schools than ever before, we recognise the budgeting challenges schools face and that we are asking them to do more. That’s why we’re supporting schools and headteachers, and their local authorities, to make the most of every pound,” the DfE said in response.