A Wirral primary school where more than 20 support staff are set to strike next week over pay cuts is struggling for money due to falling pupil numbers.

Last week, 21 staff members who work as teaching assistants and play workers at Woodchurch Road Primary School, in Oxton, Wirral, voted unanimously for the one-day walkout on Thursday, December 3.

Wirral Council said the school’s budget is in deficit due to a lack of students.

But a Lib Dem councillor has claimed the school has also been the victim of budget mismanagement by the local authority.

The 21 support workers decided to walkout over a plan to cut their pay and hours by 20%, which could see some lose out on as much as £3,885 per year.

Wirral Unison, which represents the workers, said parents and the community support their cause.

One parent, Amina Hussein, said: “I have two children who attend the school. The staff are fabulous but they cannot provide the same support in less time.

“I say to Wirral Council ‘stop these cuts and give my children the support that they deserve’.”

A spokesperson for Wirral Council, said: “There are a number of issues which have contributed to the financial position at Woodchurch Road Primary.

“These include a significant fall in pupil numbers at the school, which means a lower level of funding from the Department for Education, and a delay in reporting the financial position to the headteacher and governors.

“The delay was not the cause of the deficit, but it meant that corrective action could not be taken sooner.”

The spokesperson said action was now being taken to resolve the problem.

They added: “As a local authority, we have the ability to give the school a licence to run a ‘deficit budget,’ which we have agreed for six years. This is twice as long as would normally be agreed in these circumstances.

“The council is fully supportive of the actions being taken by the governing body, and will continue to work alongside the school to support however we can.

“It is worth noting that the school deficit has increased by nearly 60 per cent over the last two years, solely due to the decrease in pupil numbers at the school. This has meant that savings achieved during this time have had a very limited impact on the deficit.”

Oxton councillor Stuart Kelly, said: “It seems that mismanagement has occurred over a number of years leading to a build-up of debt at the school. Where do you think responsibility lies for that?

“Given the size of the deficit it is clearly caused by more than a fall in rolls, I have asked the council’s auditors a series of questions to establish how long the budget situation has been deteriorating and why this wasn’t picked up by the council’s schools finance department earlier.

“I am not convinced the school’s financial problems are the fault of the school governors.”

The Lib Dem pushed the local authority to sort the situation out.

He added: “The council has a duty to oversee community school budgets and it is clear a lack of financial oversight has led to these difficulties for the governors, they can only make decisions based upon the factual information they receive and this has not been forthcoming in the past.

“I have asked for this matter to be investigated by internal auditors and believe that the council must help resolve the current problems and put the school back on a firm financial footing.”

On the strike action, Cllr Kelly said: “The management of the school have the difficult task of ensuring the budget balances without impacting on the children at the school, I have been assured that the changes to the teacher assistants hours will not result in lost class room time.

Wirral Council said a report will be presented to the next audit and risk committee meeting on Monday, January 25.