Children must not pay price of council cuts says Rachel de Souza

Peter Evans, from Carmarthenshire, has been a headteacher for 22 years and said the situation facing schools was “the worst it has ever been”.

He said cuts and changes to non-statutory early intervention services were having a significant impact, with his school having to spend more on nappies, wipes and changing tables.

“We are in a perfect storm with our money going down and need going up, with more children coming in non-verbal and not toilet trained and access to services like speech and language, educational psychologists and occupational therapy under threat,” Mr Evans said.

“Councils are in a difficult position, but children get one chance and children are the future.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said the BBC’s findings “lay bare the tough reality many schools and families are facing” as a result of council-funded education budgets being slashed.

He warned the situation could eventually undermine the education system’s ability to support children.