Insights from our event
We're taking the message from school leaders to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.
On 19 March 2026, the Stop School Cuts campaign hosted a roundtable discussion in Liverpool.
Liverpool MPs Kim Johnson and Ian Bryne joined school leaders to discuss the challenges they see everyday in school. A deeply concerning picture emerged: rising expectations placed on schools, without the resources needed to meet them.
Over 20 school leaders described stretching budgets to impossible ends. The examples they gave of this hopeless balance are in no way unique to Liverpool:
- Growing staffing pressures
- Having to rely on staff volunteering to maintain a wide curriculum
- The lack of appropriate spaces to provide personalised support
Beyond spreadsheets and statistics, the roundtable was an opportunity for MPs to hear directly from those leading schools, who see the day-to-day realities created by national policy choices.
Both MPs emphasised the importance of these conversations in informing their work in Parliament. After all, as Kim Johnson MP put it, school leaders, who are at the frontlines of this crisis, “know what’s needed to make things right”.
Kim Johnson and Ian Bryne Ian committed to sharing the insights from the roundtable with Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.
The message from Liverpool is clear: this is not an isolated issue. The same stories are coming from across the country. From nurseries to primary and secondary schools.
And the gap between what schools are asked to do and what they are funded to deliver will only continue growing without action from the Government. School leaders are already doing everything they can. It’s time for this Government to start doing the same.