MP: Extra £51m for schools will help us level up
BURTON MP Kate Griffiths has welcomed a £51 million funding boost for schools in Staffordshire that she says will help to level up education.
Schools in the county will receive the cash next year as part of a £4 billion funding boost from the Government across the country. Funding per pupil will increase nationally by five per cent in real terms from next year, giving significant increases for every pupil in every school.
A record £1 billion extra will be spent to support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
The extra £51 million for Staffordshire schools will come on top of £706 million in funding they are due to receive next year.
Ms Griffiths said the £4 billion extra funding for schools delivered on the Prime Minister’s commitment when entering Downing Street, when he pledged to “level up” school funding by pledging more than £14 billion for primary and secondary schools by 202223.
The £51 million extra funding can be used for hiring specialist teachers, providing training, and buying school supplies including textbooks.
The total extra funding for schools means mainstream schools will receive £41.7 billion in 2022-23, an increase of 5.8 per cent per pupil. Every primary school will receive at least £4,362 per pupil, and every secondary school at least £5,669 per pupil.
Ms Griffiths also commended the Government’s targeted £1 billion boost to funding for special educational needs and disabilities, a record 13 per cent increase on this year’s funding.
The extra funding will help schools, councils and other specialist providers provide the right care and support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
The increases in school funding follows the investment of nearly £5 billion in education recovery, which includes £1.5 billion on tutoring in schools and colleges across the country to help children and young people catch up on lost learning during the pandemic. Ms Griffiths said: “No child or young person should be limited by where they grow up – they should be supported to get a world class education at school.
“The £51 million funding boost for schools in Staffordshire will help them to hire more teachers, get materials to support pupils learning, and support pupils with special needs and disabilities.
“As we build back fairer, this funding will ensure every young person in Burton and Uttoxeter can receive the education they deserve so they can fulfil their potential.”
Schools Minister Robin Walker said: “Every pupil, no matter where they grow up or go to school, deserves an excellent education and the chance to fulfil their potential. This £4 billion funding boost delivers on the Prime Minister’s commitment to level up school funding – giving significant increases to every pupil in every school – and taken alongside our ambitious education recovery plan with additional investment of almost £5 billion, will support every young person to catch up following the disruption caused by the pandemic.
“This additional investment also represents a significant boost to high needs funding, helping local authorities support pupils with special educational needs, and helping to ensure all young people can thrive and succeed.”
Earlier this year The Guardian reported that an Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) report found public spending on schools had declined over the past decade.
The IFS said: “The cuts to education spending over the last decade are effectively without precedent in postwar UK history, including a 9 per cent real-terms fall in school spending per pupil and a 14 per cent fall in spending per student in colleges.”