Jess Phillips MP in Baby Shark protest over Birmingham school hours

An MP says she is crowdfunding to send thousands of children to sing Baby Shark in Downing Street in protest against cuts to school hours.

Jess Phillips, Labour member for Birmingham Yardley, wants to raise money to also get pupils to the Treasury and Department for Education.

It comes after she revealed her son's primary school was looking to close early on Fridays in a bid to cut costs.

The Department for Education says flexibility in school hours is not new.

Toddler tune Baby Shark has proved a global smash, but it has also been credited with driving millions of people to distraction.

Ms Phillips says her 10-year-old son's school is one of 15 closing early in Birmingham.

She said the planned protest would see Birmingham children transported to Westminster at 13:00 on a Friday - the time some schools were finishing for the week.

On a fundraising page, Ms Phillips said: "It is the basic job of the government to educate all of our children for five days per week - we intend to make sure they do this.

"If they will not do it in our local schools they can do it in their offices."

By Tuesday evening, Ms Phillips's fundraiser had reached more than £6,000 of its £10,000 target, less than 24 hours after it launched.

The Department for Education (DfE) previously said it did not hold figures on how many schools had changed their hours.

A spokesman said: "We know schools face budgeting challenges and schools are being asked to do more.

"However, Birmingham receives per pupil funding significantly above the national average: in 2019-20, an average of £5,080 per pupil; well above the national average of £4,689.

"So we are also clear that schools in Birmingham should have no need to move to a shortened week for financial reasons."

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