TEACHERS could strike if the school funding squeeze is not addressed in the autumn Budget, their largest union warned yesterday.

Ahead of a debate on the issue today, National Union of Teachers (NUT) leader Kevin Courtney said school staff “can’t be expected just to sit back” while budgets are reduced.

He said the government had made “a promise to every parent that the money following their child into school would not be cut” before the last election.

But he argued the government had broken its pledge. “In roughly speaking half of schools, the money following a child has been cut in cash terms and in the other half it has been cut in real terms.”

He said going on strike was not the union’s “current planning horizon” but that teachers could be driven to industrial action if the shortfalls were not addressed.

A motion likely to be passed at the union’s conference in Cardiff this weekend resolves to “support requests for action, up to and including strike action” in schools and local authority areas where cuts are hitting hard.

The government argues its “fair funding formula” will redistribute school funding to poorer areas but unions say there is not enough money in the system.

Schools have been forced to stump up for rising payroll costs without any additional support.

But addressing the NUT’s conference last night, Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell said: “I can’t stand it any more to hear Tory ministers telling us spending on education has been protected, spending been increased, and schools are getting more funding than before. It’s rubbish.

“This is the worst school funding settlement since I was wearing flares, riding a motorbike and had brown hair down to my shoulders.

“Jeremy and I will give you absolutely 100 per cent support in your campaign to oppose these cuts and also to overturn the pay cap. Whether it’s in Parliament, or yes, if necessary, on the picket line, we’ll be with you.”

He accused the Tories of “chucking up against the wall hundreds of millions of pounds” to support free schools and academies while stripping back funding elsewhere. He said the support for new grammar schools amounted to “throwing some red meat to hard right Tory backbenchers.”