More than four in 10 parents say education and school funding will be a key issue for them in deciding how to vote in the 2017 general election, according to a new opinion poll.

A second survey, of teachers, shows that 60 per cent have seen class sizes go up in the past two years.

Both polls were carried out by YouGov and commissioned by the NUT teachers’ union.

In the first poll of 1,012 parents with school-aged children, 43 per cent said that education and school funding will be a key issue in deciding how they vote. Only Brexit, at 51 per cent, and health outranked education as election issues.

Of those who prioritised education, 83 per cent said they were more likely to vote for a candidate who will “support tackling education and school funding”.

The poll uncovered a high level of awareness about school funding problems, with 68 per cent saying they believed schools were in financial difficulty.

In the second poll of 755 teachers, 60 per cent said class sizes had increased in their school since 2015. A third said class sizes had remained steady, with just 3 per cent stating they had decreased.

Teaching posts cut

More than one third (38 per cent) said the number of teaching posts in their school had reduced over the past two years, with 28 per cent saying the number had remained the same, and 17 per cent stating it had increased.

Sixty-two per cent of respondents said their school had lost teaching assistants, and 38 per cent of teachers said the range of subjects available to pupils had decreased since 2015.

Forty-six per cent said curriculum breadth had stayed the same, with 9 per cent reporting the subject range had increased.

The YouGov polls follow a Tes online questionnaire, which found that 70 per cent of teachers said parties’ school policies would be “very important” in deciding how they vote.

The snap online survey also suggested teachers were switching to voting for Labour.

Kevin Courtney, the NUT’s general secretary, said the YouGov polling pointed “unambiguously to a growing crisis in our schools”.

“Education cuts never heal and we, as a country, can do better,” he added.

“On June 8, parents, teachers and other concerned voters must consider what is most needed for schools - and which party best fits that aspiration.”

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