Labour MP Jess Phillips vows to leave her SON with Theresa May as she joins protests against schools closing early to save money
- Labour MP Jess Phillips has been campaigning against early closing at schools
- She said she will leave her son for ‘care’ in Downing Street as part of protests
- Government says funding in Birmingham constituency is above national average
Labour MP Jess Phillips vowed to leave her son in Downing Street today as she joined protests against schools closing early to save money.
Ms Phillips said Theresa May should be ‘looking after the children of this country’ – claiming they should be educated for five full days a week.
The Birmingham Yardley MP has been campaigning for a boost to schools funding for months, after her son’s school said it might have to close early on Fridays to save cash.
Unions have claimed a lack of money from the government has been causing mounting problems across the country.
Jess Phillips, pictured today alongside her son Danny, said Theresa May should be ‘looking after the children of this country’ – claiming they should be educated for five full days a week
Mrs Phillips joined protesters in Parliament Square as they demanded sufficient funding for all schools to open for five full days
The protesters, led by Mrs Phillips, stood outside Downing Street as they sought to make themselves heard
However, their demands were unlikely to be heard by Theresa May given the Prime Minister is in Poland for a summit
However, the Department for Education insists schools funding is actually above the national average in Birmingham – and headteachers can be ‘flexible’ about hours as long as they are ‘sensible’.
Interviewed on ITV’s Good Morning Britain ahead of the protest in Westminster today, Ms Phillips said the government had overseen a ‘total degradation of funding’ and schools ‘cannot cope any more’.
‘They have done everything they can and now we have got 250 schools across the country and possibly more where kids cannot go to school for five days a week,’ she said.
‘The government has a fundamental responsibility to have children in school for five days a week.’
She added: ‘I am going to leave my son in the care of Theresa May… and show that it is her responsibility to be looking after the children of this country five days a week and educating them for five days a week.’
Mrs May is not in Downing Street today, as she is in Poland for a summit.
A Department for Education spokeswoman said: ‘The funding for an average primary class of 28 in Birmingham is £125,000 – above the national average of £115,000 for an equivalent sized class.
‘These amounts are to cover a full five-day week in term time.’