There is some irony that when money is forthcoming and bids are invited, the time-frame is often prohibitively tight and application procedure inordinately complex. The dilemma I face within my own school is whether I wait until money is released in order to fund an urgently needed upgrade to our changing facilities. These, currently, are appallingly inadequate.

Alternatively, I may divert funds from similarly deserving and urgent projects in order to hasten the refurbishment, only to find that had I waited three, six or eight months, the money would have been there for me.

In making headline promises without first organising the means and time frame by which monies are to be distributed, headteachers are put between a rock and a hard place. I entreat the Prime Minister to make sure the necessary arrangements are in place in future.

Stephen Lupton Headteacher RM Grylls middle school Second Avenue Hightown Liversedge West Yorkshire