Money earmarked for buildings and repairs will be diverted to alleviate the school funding crisis.

Headteachers in Oxfordshire welcomed a move by the Government to funnel the money into salaries to prevent staff from being laid off.

Education Secretary Charles Clarke told MPs that schools could use more than £500m, set aside for building and maintenance work, on salaries.

And he said they could also start spending their reserve funds to help them through the current financial difficulties.

However, Rod Walker, of the Oxfordshire Secondary School Headteachers' Association, warned the money would only serve as "a sticking plaster" for schools facing serious deficits.

He said: "The most outstanding concern is trying to ensure a much improved settlement in the next financial year."

Oxford secondary schools found themselves £4m in the red after budgets were set this year.

And Oxfordshire County Council fears that schools could face losing a £4.7m special grant next year, paid by the Government in recognition of the fact that Oxfordshire had fared badly compared with other local authorities.

The council and the chairman of Oxfordshire primary headteachers' association, Michael Bartleman, have written to Mr Clarke, calling on him to cover "unforeseen and unfunded pressures in relation to teachers' pay".