Help us ask government to #FundOurFuture

Over the last eight years education funding in England has fallen, in real terms, by 8% and each individual pupil is now being underfunded by an average of £500 annually. The reason? Government spending has stood still while schools took on an extra half a million pupils. This can’t continue. Government data shows that England’s secondary school population will hit 3.3 million by 2027 which is 418,000 higher than in 2018. This means that we’ll need substantial increases even to maintain current levels of spending per pupil. The future is looking bleak. Schools are having to ask parents for extra cash to plug holes in roofs and even to buy toilet paper. Teachers are having to feed pupils with their own money, schools are cutting staff and are reducing the curriculum because of pressures on their pockets. This continued lack of funding is having a detrimental impact on the quality of education for our children. Not only are they being limited in their education, but these damaging cuts are jeopardising the future of our economy and society. #FundOurFuture is a campaign asking Government to commit to plugging the £5.7 billion funding gap.

Yes, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), over the last 10 years, funding per pupil has fallen by 8% (in inflation-adjusted terms). On average, the Government now spends £500 less a year on the education of every child in England.  These figures were also investigated by Full Fact and verified as accurate.  This is a total of a £4.2 billion real-term decrease in funding since 2009/10. 

You can find more information in the IFS 2018 annual report on education spending in England. 

Using IFS figures, Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) has calculated that we need a £5.7 billion school spending boost to adequately fund schools in 2019/20. This is based on schools delivering on basic expectations such as a maximum class size of 30 and students being taught by a qualified teacher 100% of the time. 

You can find more information in ASCL’s report: The True Cost of Education

#FundOurFuture aims to raise awareness of the current state of education and call for change. By submitting your bank note and showing your support, you are sending a clear message to the Government that it’s time to nurture our children’s futures and provide them with the education they deserve. All bank notes will be sent to No.10 Downing Street. The more notes we send, the bigger message that everybody wants suitable funding for education.

Contact details and images for the banknotes will be stored on a private area of the website only accessibly by Schools North East and Cargo Creative who maintain the website. Your details will not be shared with any third parties and you will only be contacted in relation to the Fund Our Futures campaign. After the Fund Our Futures campaign has finished all details will be deleted. Please see our terms and conditions for full details.

The image will be securely stored on a private area of this website. We may use some of the images to send printed versions to Government but this is the only time we will use it. If you would prefer us not to print a note with your child’s face on please contact us at info@fundourfuture.org.uk. Please see our terms and conditions for full details.

Once you have submitted your bank note, you will be provided with the option to have this sent to an email address of your choice. Should you wish, you can then print your bank note at home and send this directly to No.10 Downing Street. You will also be given an option to email the note directly to No. 10 Downing Street.

To show your support for #FundOurFuture, why not add the Facebook frame to your profile picture? You can add a simple overlay quickly and easily following the steps below.

1. Sign in to your Facebook profile

2. From your profile, hover over your profile picture and click ‘Update’

3. Select ‘Add frame’

4. Search for #FundOurFuture and select the frame that appears in the search results

5. You can then choose how long you would like your new profile picture to last for, before clicking ‘Use as Profile Picture’

No. Unless you wish to post a physical copy of your note to No. 10 Downing Street there will be no cost to you.

There are many ways you can get involved with the #FundOurFuture campaign. Whether you’re a parent, grandparent, teacher, businesses or simply care about this country’s young people, you can make a big difference by helping us spread the word. For schools and education networks, download our #FundOurFuture packs available here [hyper link to how to be involved page] for more ways to get involved. You can also share and promote the campaign on social media. Follow us on Twitter @FundOurFutureED and like us on Facebook @FundOurFutureED. You can also follow the campaign by using the hashtag #FundOurFuture. If you would like to do more please contact us to see how you can be involved.

We appreciate your generosity should you wish to donate to the #FundOurFuture campaign please contact us.