Nick Clegg announces education funding commitment for the South West

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg will today [Thursday] announce a major funding commitment to boost education in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset.

On a visit to Devon Nick Clegg will set out the Liberal Democrat manifesto commitment for a Pupil Premium that would invest around £85m of extra cash in South West schools, raising funding for disadvantaged pupils to private school levels.

Full nation-wide details of the Pupil Premium pledge, part of a £2.5bn spending commitment, will be announced on Monday, 1 February 2010.

Recent figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats show that:

Devon is in the bottom 10 authorities for school funding Cornwall and Somerset are both in the bottom 25 of the school funding league table

Pupils in Devon attract 10% less funding than the national average

Only 23% of the poorest pupils in Devon achieved five good GCSEs, including English and maths, compared with more than half of their better-off classmates

The gap in academic achievement between rich and poor is 31% In Devon, Cornwall and Somerset last year, less than a quarter of those children entitled to free school meals achieved five decent GCSEs including English and maths.

Under the Pupil Premium the Liberal Democrats would invest an extra:

£27.3m in Devon

£22.1m in Cornwall

£15.4m in Somerset

£13.3m in Plymouth

£7.2m in Torbay

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said:

"It's nothing short of a scandal that children in the South West continue to lose out under Labour. Schools in the South West receive significantly less money than the national average.

"With this unfairness in funding it's no surprise there is such a gap in achievement between children from the poorest backgrounds and those families who are better off.

"Under our plans, schools in the South West would get a further £85m which they could use to cut class sizes and provide more individual support. Only when we get education funding back on track will be able to give all our children the fair start they deserve."

Graham Oakes Lib Dem PPC for Exeter and former Chair of Education Scrutiny on DCC added:

"Whilst the standards of buildings has significantly improved over the past 10 years Exeter schools have been denied fair funding by the Labour government and its Tory predecessors. We need to value and support our teachers by giving them class sizes where they can really help children to learn."

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. Per pupil funding by local authority -

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090203/text/902

03w0020.htm#09020362001419

2. Performance gap between rich and poor -

http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000900/SFR34_2009FinalUpdated.xls

(table 5)

3. The Pupil Premium is based on the number of children eligible for free

school meals.

It would be set nationally and top-up a national per-pupil base funding

figure.

Individual schools would be free to use the additional money as they see

fit.

4. The Pupil Premium would invest an extra £27,309,882 in Devon, £22,198,924

in Cornwall, £15,385,612 in Somerset, £13,348,720 in Plymouth and £7,228,386

in Torbay.