A head teacher took on the London Marathon after a funding crisis left her school unable to afford pens and pencils.

Rachel Hately was determined to do something practical to help with financial problems at Joydens Wood Infant School.

Following her appointment in January 2017, the 32-year-old says she was forced to make several redundancies because of lack of money.

Rachel Hately ran the marathon to pay for kit at her cash-strapped school

The government is not increasing the school's funding despite Ms Hately having to accommodate hikes to pension contributions and teachers' pay.

She said: "From September, we will be operating with a deficit budget of £106,053.

"From September 2020, we predict this to increase to £182,429.

"From 2021, we predict our deficit budget to be £364,468."

The budget is also impacted by the fact it is a small school in a suburban area, which receives less pupil premium funding than other schools in more deprived areas.

Ms Hately has described the situation as "morally wrong", not only impacting school morale, but its ability to afford even basic supplies.

The former Canterbury Christ Church University student, who grew up in Dartford, said: "After we got the budget for this year, it became clear that we didn't even have enough funding to run the school without a deficit.

"I put in for the marathon's charity ballot for that reason, and luckily it was successful.

"I felt it was important for me to run it and promote our cause."

On Friday, pupils completed a mini-marathon to support the campaign, with some running more than 20 laps around the school's field, which was decorated with London landmarks.

She said: "As all teachers work extremely hard, to run a marathon you have got to be dedicated to get over that finish line.

"I wanted to prove that dedication to our school community, and say 'thank you' to the parents for donating.

"To raise that much money from them is asking a lot, and I don’t think that’s the way it should be."

So far, around £4,100 has been donated to the Friends of Joydens Wood charity in support of Miss Hately's marathon effort.

She believes it's enough to support the school for just half a year.

On a day-to-day basis, the charity raises funds though events and activities, including a fortnightly class tea, during which parents are invited to buy donated cakes.

Ms Hately said: "The money raised through the charity has been used to transform our outdoor playing spaces, alongside paying for classroom resources.

"We are a predominantly play-based school, and children have a lot of resources that they need for their learning.

"It’s not all about pencils and pens, we also need resources for things like cooking and ICT."

Ms Hately, who now lives in Surrey with her husband, Alastair Crundwell, completed her marathon in just five hours and two minutes, as children, parents and staff cheered her on from the sidelines.

She added: "I grew up in Joydens Wood, and my husband went to this school when he was little.

"It’s horrendous, as a new headteacher, to come into a school and make nine long-term members of staff redundant, but the marathon really brought the school community together.

"The children, despite how young they are, have really understood the purpose of it.

"I think it’s really sad that the NHS is in crisis, the police are short of officers, and the education system is in this sad position.

"We’re not going to have doctors, police officers or teachers if there are no schools to teach them."

To donate to the school's 'marathon mission', click here

Read more: All the latest news from Dartford