Donations to schools have waned since the Covid pandemic because of “compassion fatigue”, a multi-academy trust leader has warned.
During the pandemic many schools received support from local businesses and charities, Tom Campbell, CEO of E-ACT, said, adding that it is “heartbreaking” that this has now reduced.
“In Covid there was a call to action. Suddenly we had local employers donating IT equipment, we had employers coming to help feed children,” he told the Schools and Academies Show in Birmingham on Wednesday.
“Virtue signalling” and “community partnership” became “really trendy”, said Mr Campbell, whose trust runs 38 schools across England.
School funding: drop in donations to schools
It “was just really heartbreaking to see that people got bored” of community partnerships because of “compassion fatigue” once the pandemic ended, he said.
“In Covid people felt they did a lot...That lasted six months, and they moved on. But we’re still there, with not only the same challenges, but many of them worse,” he added.
Mr Campbell warned that many charities, communities and services that supported schools “are sort of gone”, leaving schools “holding the baby and everyone else”.
Mr Campbell was speaking after a Department for Education adviser said that teachers have been left covering the gaps in essential services.
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