MUMS, dads and grandparents are being forced to help schools pay for essential resources including craft materials, library books and even equipment for pupils with special needs, according the chair of a PTA.

Laura Mount, from Appleton Thorn Primary School PTA, is going to Parliament today to question ministers about the methods behind the national education funding formula, which will see Warrington schools lose almost a quarter of a million pounds each year.

She said: “Parents are quite livid about it. I think the Government thinks it doesn’t need to fund Warrington properly. But the people of our town pay their taxes just like everybody else.

“We are being asked to fund things that other schools in the country would never dream of fundraising for.”

Parents have had to get creative in their search for money to make ends meet. Laura, who has been chair of the PTA for four years, said they have a secondhand uniform shop, loose change collections, employer match funding drives and at times collect unwanted clothes that can be sold to a company.

“It’s a big burden, we have just over 200 pupils. So we try to involve the whole community but we don’t want people to feel like they are always being asked for help,” she added.

In the past two years, the PTA has raised more than £6,000 for special needs resources.

Laura said: “We are penalised because the school is successful - you get more money if your pupils aren’t getting good grades.

“I hope I get to say something useful at the debate and that they listen to us, for the sake of the town. We need to get as many people speaking up for Warrington as possible.”