READING'S schools are expected to lose around £4.9m by 2020, as the council calls for the government to rethink cuts.

Councillor Ashley Pearce, lead member for education, moved a motion calling for an end to school funding cuts at full council this week.

Reading Borough Council (RBC) will decide on whether to write to education minister Damian Hinds, along with Reading East MP Matt Rodda, and the National Education Union, to ask him to rethink plans to further reduce spending per pupil.

Cllr Pearce said: “I want to put pressure on Damien Hinds ahead of the autumn budget.

“SENCO roles are not being filled; some schools have had to get rid of teachers without replacing them.

“I genuinely hope that all sides can agree on this. I am sure councillors from all wards have spoken to schools and seen this is an issue.”

Between 2009-10 and 2017-18, total school spending per pupil in England fell by about eight per cent in real terms, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

All Reading schools face reduced budgets, according to schoolcuts.org.uk. The website does not include data for special or recently opened schools.

There is now an average of two more pupils per class in Reading, giving the reduced funding a bigger impact; around £281 will be lost per Reading pupil by 2020.

The biggest loser will be Prospect School, with around £253,000 set to leave their budget by 2020.

Local authority support is down by 55 per cent, while the core schools budget for under 16s fell by four per cent from 2015-2017, according to IFS.

All Reading councillors will meet tomorrow evening, from 6.30pm at the Civic Centre, in the last full council meeting of the year.

The autumn budget will be delivered on October 29.