AN Oldham teaching union leader says the town's school leaders are facing making "impossible decisions" just to keep afloat.

Nigel Yeo, the join secretary of the Oldham District of the National Education Union, was commenting after the national union published a league table of underfunding for schools.

The NEU says it underscores the deep damage being done to England’s schools by continued austerity.

Mr Yeo said: “School leaders in Oldham are once again faced with the prospect of making impossible decisions just to keep afloat.

"After years of austerity, Boris Johnson’s promises on school funding will not fix the roof – it’s too little, too late.

"Schools need a significant funding increase now, not the dribs and drabs promised from April 2020.

"For 95 per cent of Oldham’s schools the funding crisis continues and many are having to lay off support staff, drop subjects, close early and cut corners on basic maintenance, just to get by (you can see the actual figures by going to the school cuts website at schoolcuts.org.uk). These are not ‘little extras’."

The NEU says that even if Prime Minister Boris Johnson's promised "levelling up" of funding actually does take place, 83 per cent of schools across England will still have less money per pupil in April, 2020 in real terms than they had in 2015 and children in 146 out of 149 local authorities will still be losing out compared with 2015.

Mr Yeo added: "Out of 533 Parliamentary constituencies only 18 will see per-pupil funding above its 2015 level in real terms. Of those 18 constituencies, 13 are Conservative-held (one is held by Jacob Rees-Mogg no less) whereas three quarters of the 100 worst-hit constituencies are Labour-held. No member of Boris Johnson’s cabinet appears in the bottom 100.

"Needless to say none of Oldham’s constituencies is among the 18."