Concerns have been raised about funding cuts after two Weymouth schools were handed 'inadequate' ratings by Ofsted. 

A teacher, who wished to remain anonymous, equated the schools' decline to continued cuts and said the schools were battling against 'massive budget shortfalls'. 

"Financially we are struggling," they said. "The number of teaching assistants is falling and class numbers are rising. There is real behavioural problems in all of the schools. I challenge anyone to stand in front of a class and deliver outstandingly when there's more and more children with behavioural issues and less support."

They added Weymouth and Portland was now one of the poorest boroughs in the country in terms of education.

"There's a direct link between poverty and academic achievement which is only getting worse. The results are incredibly demoralising for the kids and very worrying for parents - there isn't a good one for them to go to. But the results don't reflect how hard the teachers are working. They're working their socks off," they said.

"It's insulting to our borough. How dare you tell us we are not good enough when we are struggling against these cuts."

Councillor, Jon Orrell said the cuts were a particular problem in Dorset. 

"Our schools get short changed in terms of funding per pupils which isn't fair. It's no surprise that our secondary schools are failing. 

"It's not their fault, it is a much bigger issue. The fact that all the schools in Weymouth and Portland are struggling shows there is a systemic problem. It isn't down to bad teaching and poor pupils - if you cut the funding they cannot continue to provide high levels of teaching.

"Teachers are being blamed for a problem not of their making. We are losing headmasters, we are losing governors but we are still not giving them enough funding. You can't keep making cuts and expect standards to remain high. 

"If we really value our children we should pay schools to have the right level of staffing." 

Fears over funding cuts were raised at a Dorset County Council Economic Growth and Scrutiny committee in April.

Read more here.