STAFF FULL OF COMPASSION

I AM writing to you from Switzerland, hoping you will print a big ‘Thank You’ to the wonderful staff in Macclesfield hospital.

My 97-year-old mother was taken ill with pneumonia and sadly passed away in the hospital on January 3. Despite the dire circumstances the NHS is in – I was horrified to see the numbers of patients having to be treated in the corridors of A&E, for example – the doctors and nursing staff were sensitive and caring and showed a lot of compassion dealing with our mother.

This was also extended to myself and siblings. Even at the end of a very long shift they took the time to check that we were also ok. We were so grateful for this at a very distressing time. Romy Meagher Via email ON the same day that the Government announced the ‘Fairer Funding Formula’ for schools, which will result in a significant loss of funding for many schools in Cheshire East, the National Audit Office (NAO) announced that extra savings of £3bn would have to be made by 2020.

This is a huge blow for our schools, already struggling to cope with systematic but often hidden cuts to budgets. Head teachers in Cheshire East, along with their colleagues nationally, have warned that the cuts can only mean a lesser service.

Will the cuts result in fewer qualified teachers and larger class numbers? Will there be a reduced number of subjects offered to secondary pupils? How will they continue to provide the excellent service that our children and young people currently receive?

How will these cuts allow schools to attract more teachers into the profession when numbers recruited are not matching those leaving? Teachers’ pay nationally has been frozen or capped since 2011. Schools need more qualified teachers not less.

While schools in areas of high deprivation and rural schools do need increased resources, how can taking money away from schools already struggling be justified?

The so called ‘Fairer Funding Formula’ is just another crude attempt by the government to cut funding for public services and then to dress it up as something to be celebrated. How come they can find money for continued development of Free Schools and the proposed re-introduction of Grammar schools, which serve a minority of the education population, but not for our existing education system?

Robbing Peter to pay Paul is not the answer, more funding is needed for state education and less for the private sector – let’s divert the huge amount of resources from Free Schools and put it where we know it works.