Councillors lashed out at the government as they revealed a stunning £40m backlog in repairs for Kirklees’ crumbling schools but less than £4m available to fix them.

Schools across the borough are suffering from leaking roofs, obsolete boilers, faulty electrics, dry rot and worn out kitchens and school equipment.

Senior councillors in the cabinet have now given the go-ahead for the next wave of repairs, worth £3.8m, most of which will be carried out over the summer holidays.

But they have warned that the investment is a “drop in the ocean” compared to what is needed.

Meltham CE Primary School, Holmfirth Road.

Clr Graham Turner, cabinet member responsible for schools, hit out at the “underfunding of schools” by the Department for Education (DfE), which granted Kirklees just £3.7m last year.

He said: “While I welcome the £3.7m from central government to help keep schools warm and dry this is a drop in the ocean compared to the estimated amount that needs doing over the next five years.

“This year alone we will have a shortfall of £3m.

“The continued under-funding of schools is short sighted.

“Our children and grandchildren deserve to be educated in nice, well maintained facilities.

Kirklees Labour member,Clr Graham Turner

“What sort of a start in life is it to have to put up with crumbling buildings – you only get one chance at education.

“How can our hard working teachers be expected to work in these kind of conditions?

“These children are our future and this government is selling them short.”

Clr Viv Kendrick added: “It has me in despair that we can’t fund our schools properly.”

Clr Shabir Pandor said a national survey had revealed a £6.7bn backlog in maintenance as the government focussed on building new schools that he claimed weren’t needed.

“It’s quite clear the government’s priorities are wrong,” he said.

Video Loading

“It’s affecting places like Kirklees where we’ve got a massive backlog and schools are getting dilapidated as about 60% of ours were built before 1976.”

Kirklees ended up having to spend £4.9m on repairs last year but has only been granted £3.8m by the DfE for 2018/19.

Officers said a survey of schools found that some needed urgent repairs which if ignored could lead to breaches of health and safety, forcing the council to close some buildings.

Colne Valley MP, Thelma Walker, a former headteacher, said: “The systematic underfunding of education and of local authorities by central government must be addressed.

Colne Valley MP Thelma Walker.

“Our children cannot thrive in schools which are crumbling around them, and swift action needs to be taken to resolve this.

“We need to invest in a quality learning environment that will stimulate children’s imaginations, allowing them to reach their highest potential.

“A £36m funding gap isn’t going to allow that to happen.

“Draughty classrooms, leaking windows, classrooms out of use, boilers breaking down; all of these things are adding substantial stress to headteachers who are being crippled by budget restraints from central government.

“This simply cannot go on. We need action now to address these issues.

“I will be raising this issue with the Schools’ Minister to press him for further funding for our schools.”

Last year’s cash was spent mostly on 14 new heating systems for schools, 12 roof replacements and 11 electrical re-wires.

The main beneficiaries were Dalton School (rewire), Crowlees J&I (heating and roof), Battyeford Primary (roof), Birkenshaw Primary (roof and rewire), Holmfirth J&I (roof), Hyrstmount Junior (heating), Meltham CE Primary (heating), Newsome Junior (rewire), Rowley Lane J&I (roof), Spen Valley High (boiler), Upperthong J&I (rewire) and a huge revamp for specialist school for children with autism, Woodley School and College.