A HEADTEACHER has warned he may have to send pupils home and make staff redundant if he does not get more money.

Alasdair Coates, head of St Christopher's High School, Queens Road West, Accrington, said he would have to take the drastic action if the government did not give his school the cash they promised.

He said the government had short changed all schools because they only gave about 4.4 per cent of the 11.29 per cent increase pledged, so he and every other school in Hyndburn were facing similar deficits in the region of £100,000.

He also said the problem was particularly acute in East Lancashire because, despite being a depressed area, it did not have access to extra education funding.

A spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills said schools could dip into funding set aside for building projects and implored heads not to do anything drastic before speaking to the LEA or themselves.

The warning came as Hyndburn's headteachers met MP Greg Pope at Norden High, Stourton Street, Rishton, yesterday, to ask him to convey their feelings to the government.

In a joint statement they said: "He has been made aware of the serious shortfalls in our school budgets that has led us all to consider cutbacks and staff redundancies.

"He undertook to contact ministers on our behalf to try to set up a meeting of all secondary heads in the district with a government minister at the DFES in London."

Mr Coates said: "Teachers' salaries account for 85 per cent of our budget. This year the employers' superannuation contribution has gone up by 5.5 per cent, national insurance by one per cent and teachers pay by 2.9 per cent.

"That is a total of 9.4 per cent and we only get 4.4 per cent. We are already five per cent adrift just looking at that one item.

"We are being asked to improve by providing new technology, white boards, computers and Internet access, but that is not possible when we have to cover teachers' salaries.

"The LEA are trying to give us more money for a standstill budget, but that would not be enough for us because we can't stand still, you have to make progress -- imagine a child's report that said he is standing still."

Denise Parkinson, of Norden High, said: "The huge shortfall of money is despite the fact that we have the lowest funded schools in Lancashire, and possibly in the country. Yet we are popular with large numbers of pupils and staff."

The spokesman for the DFES said: "Charles Clarke, made an announcement that schools should use money normally set aside for buildings projects, but I think the government are currently discussing the whole matter."

Coun Alan Whittaker, LCC Cabinet Member for Education and Young People, said: "A number of schools have contacted the LEA about this year's budget allocations and it is clear that locally and nationally there is considerable concern about the financial position.

"I would be very surprised if any schools in Lancashire had to send children home and would be extremely concerned if schools took the action to send pupils home on the basis that they could not afford staff to teach them."

"We will work with schools to address any concerns and are not aware of any schools in Lancashire proposing to send pupils home."