Day 153 – Refurbishment

“With forecast cuts in public spending it is likely that the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme will need to consider more refurbishment and less new builds.”

With this quote, Roger Hawkins begins to argue the case for positive refurbishment of existing structures for schools in the Architects’ Journal.

Some buildings are obviously better pulled down, but many can be modernised effectively and gradually, and using funds that are realistically available. Ambitious plans can be made, but if funds disappear, they can be modified or cancelled.

These options aren’t available if school system change occurs. Pupils have to be housed somewhere; they need classrooms.

Nobody knows if funding will still be there after a change of government. Nobody knows where the lower-primary funding is coming from at all.

So why are we planning a revolution rather than an evolution?

Day 152 – Dave Hodgson

Dave Hodgson has got around to addressing the schools debate. Unfortunately not in the press as yet, but by email reply to SMS supporters and others who have queried his silence on the issue. His reply is standard and was forwarded to us by several people keen for it to gain a wider audience.

As this is the only issue in the election which appears to provide clear ground between the candidates (they all want to build the bypass, they all want to regenerate the town centre, they all want to attract business) then we do wonder why it has taken this long for Dave to reply – perhaps he has a lot on at the moment…

SMS will issue a reply to this letter in due course via this blog, but comments are very welcome to Dave’s email…all comments are anonymous via pseudonym of course and you can easily set up a temporary googlemail or hotmail account to further protect your anonymity from us (like Fred & William).

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Thank you for your email about the school structures. I know that schools and schooling is something about which people, including myself, are passionate. Indeed, I came to Bedford when my father was appointed Headteacher of Westfield School and I went to school in Bedford through the last restructuring.

My position is that I would like to see the system in Bedford Borough change to 2 tier. I am the Chair of Governors at John Bunyan School which is soon to become an academy. All of the Headteachers in the Bunyan Pyramid, including the Headteachers of the Middle Schools, support a change to 2 tier education. The Academy sponsors are also wholeheartedly for 2 tier. If the Borough was starting from a blank sheet of paper there is, for me, no question that 2 tier schools would be the best option. It’s the system used by over 90% of local authorities, for which the national frameworks are devised and for which almost all teacher training is provided.

I have met with Tony Dadd and his colleagues when they asked for a meeting with councillors and I have heard their arguments and put questions to them.

Before finally deciding on whether I want the Borough to change to 2 tier I would consider:
– the consultation responses, whether they contained anything to change my view that a change to 2 tier is desirable
– can it be funded
– is there a credible plan for implementation

As you are no doubt aware, the final decision will be taken by the Full Council not the Mayor. As Mayor, even if the Council voted for the different option than me, I would take up the option decided on as the option for the Borough for the next 30 years and ensure it was pursued with all vigour to get the best education for the Borough’s children. Indeed, to get any money from the government they must be convinced that the Borough has made a clear decision and will pursue it wholeheartedly.

Regards
Dave Hodgson

Day 151 – Northamptonshire’s Great New Vision

Back in 2005, Northampton’s 3-tier system was changed to 2-tier. By November 2007, there were more schools in special measures or on notices to improve in Northamptonshire than in any other authority, many of them in Northampton as a direct result of the change.

Well, the special forces team have been into Northamptonshire for the past year and have now come up with a brand new shiny 21 point plan to improve educational standards. The Northampton Evening Telegraph covered this a week or so ago on their front page.

The proposed changes include cutting the summer holidays to four weeks and lengthening the school day.

Cllr Ron Sawbridge, chairman of the pupil attainment working group which is behind the plans, said: “If we are going to improve the situation quickly we need to introduce radical changes.”

Apparently changing from three tier to two tier wasn’t radical enough.

SMS wonders how much money has been diverted from teaching and learning to come up with this plan…and whether Suffolk are going to produce the same plan in a year’s time…and whether Bedford will be in 5 years’ time…

Day 147 – Parvez, Apu and Tony

Word reached SMS this week of Parvez Akhtar and Apu Bagchi’s first newsletters. This is what they say about schools:

Parvez Akhtar – Conservative (and pictured on his leaflet outside Alban Middle School’s “Save Our School” sign)
“As a dad of children in local lower, middle and upper schools, I know how important it is we get this decision right. I believe our three-tier schools have served us well. The case for change hasn’t been proven and there’s now massive uncertainty that the Labour Government would give us the money needed for a reorganisation – but here’s my personal guarantee: parents’ views will have the real role in my consultation process that many feel they don’t have now.”

Apu Bagchi – Independent
“(I will) put the brakes on the borough’s expensive school reorganisation programme and invest more to improve the educational attainment of all our children.” In his manifesto, Apu adds: “If the predicted public spending squeeze really starts to bite, I don’t want to see the local taxpayer having to bail out a scheme that will create massive disruption for teachers, parents and a generation of our school children.”

Last week, Tony Hare (Independent) said in the T&C:
“To change to a two-tier structure will cost a considerable amount of money, and the construction, upheaval to children at a vulnerable time, and the additional travelling for children in rural areas will all be for what? To change the existing system while using the same teachers, teaching the same children and using the same curriculum, for the same duration, with no guarantees of any better results.”

It seems like these three candidates ought to have our support then, as they have called this issue correctly.

For James Valentine (Labour, who supports two-tier on the basis of two school transitions being more disruptive than one) and for Dave Hodgson (LibDem, who apparently doesn’t think this is important enough to have a view either way in public) perhaps our readership might like to reconsider their traditional party allegiances this time round.

And in an election that may be too close to call, everybody’s votes (both of them, first choice and second) will count.

So SMS are asking that you ensure you, your family and your friends vote for a candidate who openly supports stability, not educational and financial chaos. Spread the word.

Day 146 – Suffolk Now Failing

Suffolk is in the middle of a change from two-tier to three-tier, based on the availability of BSF funding. Unfortunately, as reported on this blog on Day 139, half of the project has been put on hold over concerns that money will not be available post-2011.

In the meantime, teachers have left in droves from middle schools due to close and from an education system in the process of chaotic change.

Yesterday, the DCSF announced that expert advisors are being sent to Suffolk to prepare a progress review on results.

To interpret that in plain English, Suffolk is failing to provide a satisfactory education for many of its children. Just like Northampton and Milton Keynes did shortly after they announced their change.

Just like Bedford Borough will in the future should we attempt this unwise and underfunded change to a primary-secondary schools structure.

Day 145 – James Valentine’s view

The Labour Party’s candidate for Mayor made his public views on school system change known in the BoS at the weekend.

James says:
“I believe that changing school too many times hinders a child’s learning, so I support a move to two tier.”.

SMS says:
“James is welcome to his beliefs. However, most parents and middle school supporters believe that two smaller well-managed transitions can be much better than one harsh change from a primary school with maybe only 150 pupils to a huge secondary of 2000 adolescents and young adults.”

James says:
“To avoid disruption to our children, the reorganisation will take place over a long time period – planning and discussions with the schools over the next three years, and implementation between 2013 and 2015. But we need to decide now.”

SMS says:
“The disruption will be caused over the next 10 years, with Marie Celeste middle schools for 5 years losing their best staff and their brightest children whose parents will scrimp and save to put them into the private sector.”

“The disruption will be caused in upper schools, as three year groups and their new teachers descend on one day in September 2014 or 2015 and have a far-reaching effect on results for years, as in other authorities that have changed recently.”

“The disruption will be caused in lower schools, where the change to primary is underfunded and due to come out of the schools’ own budgets.”

“The disruption will be caused for all teachers, where the new government’s educational initiatives and financial cuts will have to be implemented at the same time as this damaging change.”

“Yes, we do have to decide now. Decide to remain three-tier for the next 30-50 years, so bureaucrats and politicians don’t come back and try again in 3,5,10 years’ time.”

James says:
“I am telling you this because I think it is important for Bedford’s democracy that anyone who wants to be Mayor is honest about what they believe.”

SMS says:
“Thank you James. That is the most sensible thing you have said so far. We don’t agree with your opinion on schools, and you probably won’t get elected as the ‘reds’ aren’t the nations favourite colour at the moment, but you might have made a reasonable Mayor of Bedford.”

“Perhaps it is time for Dave Hodgson to show his hand now. Come on Dave, you know you want to…”

Day 144 – A £2 Billion Cut in Schools’ Budgets

Ed Balls yesterday confirmed that, from 2011, there will be a £2 billion cut in schools’ budgets and said that he could successfully deliver them.

His solution? Mainly by creating federations of schools, where senior posts are shared across schools and therefore saving money by employing fewer senior non-teaching staff. Also a reduction in bureaucrats, which is always a popular thing to say (and you’ll hear more of that in the run-up to the next general election from all parties I’m sure).

So, from 2011, schools in Bedford will be involved in a massive reorganisation of senior management in order to find the huge cuts that Ed Balls has proposed (or whatever Michael Gove’s alternative is).

The education world will be in turmoil in order to find cuts of this size…and at the same time, Bedford is going to change its schools system?

And all this assumes that BSF funding will survive, and schools will find the money for lower-primary transition…

…and our children, schools and families will all continue happily along their way, gaining improved results?

Absolute fantasy.

So what can you do?

Help to vote in a Mayor who has a clear policy to retain and support three-tier education by any means possible – spread the word by email and social networking – “viral” campaigns such as ours can be more effective than leafletting in the modern world.

Encourage others to actively vote for three-tier supporters (with both their votes) and against two-tier supporters (by not voting for them)

Day 141 – Tony to run for Mayor

Tony Hare announced yesterday in the Times & Citizen that he would be running for Mayor as an Independent candidate. His comments on the schools debate included:

“To change to a two-tier structure will cost a considerable amount of money, and the construction, upheaval to children at a vulnerable time, and the additional travelling for children in rural areas will all be for what?”

“To change the existing system while using the same teachers, teaching the same children and using the same curriculum, for the same duration, with no guarantees of any better results.”

Quite. Well said.

There are now 5 candidates declared openly and of those positive sounds in public for a sensible decision on schools have been made by Parvez Akhtar (Conservative) and Tony Hare (Independent). James Valentine (Labour) has not had much press at all yet so we don’t know his views. Dave Hodgson (LibDem) and Apu Bagchi (Independent) had personal profile pieces yesterday in the T&C which (to be fair) were not policy platforms, but neither has made a public commitment yet either.

Of these, Dave Hodgson has solidly refused to make his position clear. Yesterday on this blog Michael Headley confirmed that the LibDems (the largest group) will have a free vote on the issue, which of course isn’t the same thing at all – potential Mayors need to show leadership, and it beggars belief that a man who attended a briefing for his party from both sides back in April or May, has spoken to SMS as part of our councillors’ meetings during the summer, and who is a governor of John Bunyan, does not know which side of the fence he sits on yet.

This is not about what the Consultation Report will say either (as Nicky Attenborough tried to get away with on Monday evening), because the Consultation Document made it very clear which way the “Sir Humphreys” of Bedford Borough were going with this.

It is about leadership. Or rather, a distinct lack of it from a man who may well be elected Mayor on October 15th.

Day 139 – Chaos in Suffolk

Yesterday in Suffolk, their plans to abolish middle schools were thrown into chaos as half the project was put on hold over concerns about BSF funding post-2011. The full article is here.

Graham Newman, the portfolio holder for children’s services said: “Because the government cannot give us any certainty about levels of funding for future years, we feel that as a prudent and sensible council we have to reconsider the timeline for the remainder of the review. Until we have more clarity on the future financial position, it would be irresponsible for us to make promises on what happens next and when.”

Andrew Stringer, the Green Party councillor who has been one of the leading figures in the fight to retain middle schools, said education in the Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket areas was now facing a crisis.

“We are left with the worst of all possible worlds – an exodus of teachers has already begun because of the changes, which means our children are facing the prospect of falling education standards.

“Two years’ ago, we warned the county council not to proceed until it has a cast iron assurance that the money would be there to pay for it. We feared we were being led down a blind alley and, sadly, we have been proved right,” said Mr Stringer.

The political and educational establishment has already destabilised our schools by trying to influence popular opinion by indicating that this is a “done deal”.

Isn’t it time we voted in a Mayor who believed in stability rather than chaos, incremental change by targeting resources where they are needed rather than massive disruption, visions based on solid reality rather than the fantasy of the Emperor’s new clothes.

Day 138 – The Morning After

What a show the Conservatives put on at Dame Alice Harpur last night ! The audience (of 700+?) queued for miles (almost literally) as the security checks were very tight, although they didn’t seem to mind whether you were carrying any guns or drugs, as long as your name was on the electoral register. Maybe identity cards would have helped…or,err…maybe not…

The surprise guest (Mr.Pickles) and the Chairman then did an impromptu double act on Conservative Party policies under David Cameron for an hour and a half with a style that was very “Eric and Ernie”, in fact Eric Pickles might even have won the nomination at the end if his name had been on the ballot paper. More than one stomach grumbled, and those grumbles moved vertically as the evening wore on…oh well, the best laid plans…democracy in action and all that…

But at last we were off, with a shortened time slot of 5 mins standard questioning from the Chair and 5 mins from the audience, and what fun was had seeing how the prospective mayoral candidates dealt with one standard question in particular: “Three tier or Two tier”?

And these were our impressions of their answers:

Parvez Akhtar: We need to look at it carefully and consider all the evidence. Oh alright, if you insist on a straight answer, I tend to support the three tier side….(wow, a considered but straight answer. How impressive !)

Tom Wootton: I’m a traditionalist. Three tier through and through…(good man)

Nicky Attenborough: How could I possibly comment when the official report hasn’t been published? I don’t know anything about this yet. Once I am elected, I’ll tell you what I think…(methinks she has been well trained by the bureaucrats in Borough Hall – going native they called it in Yes Minister)

Jason Reddy: If the finance is there, then we’ll be able to make a decision…(well, that one’s easy then Jason, because the money isn’t there for the lower-primary change, even if we do get £340M for secondary schools)…and what decision do you personally support? (not that it matters much now…)

And the result? Parvez by a country mile with over 50% of the votes in the first round. There were then quite a few grumbles from the party faithful about procedure and the fact their selection procedure had been “hijacked” by outsiders (ie real and not necessarily Tory voters willing to give up an evening of their time), but to be honest, Parvez was by far the best candidate overall.

The next task of course will be to ensure that the schools debate becomes the main focus of this Mayoral campaign. If any of the other candidates try the Nicky Attenborough approach (she was heckled and not by SMS it must be said), they may get laughed at openly….by the electorate on polling day.

Day 137 – The Conservative Open Primary

Tonight the Conservative Party plus other more independently minded Bedfordians will select the Conservative candidate for the Mayoral Elections.

The candidates are:

Nicky Attenborough, Leader of the Bedford Borough Conservative Councillors

Tom Wootton, Conservative Borough Councillor

Parvez Akhtar, Chair of the Queens Park Parish Council

Jason Reddy, a Putnoe GP and Deputy Medical Director of the NHS Bedfordshire PCT

SMS wonders what each of them will say about the schools’ debate. Some of us will be there to listen with interest, especially as many traditionally Conservative votes are in wards with very good middle schools.

Day 135 – Mayoral Candidates

So far we know of three declared candidates:

Cllr Dave Hodgson – LibDems and Governor of John Bunyan Upper School

James Valentine – Labour and “an upper school” governor (according to his blurb in the BoS)

Cllr Apu Bagchi – Independent and Governor of Castle Lower School

On Monday night the Conservative Party and their invited guests will select their candidate and in one week’s time we will know who all the candidates are.

We wonder when any of them will state their position on whether they support two or three tier education? The voters of Bedford have a right to know what they believe and what they plan to do.

Day 133 – Good News !

On Tuesday night, David Cameron spoke to an audience of 140 in Bedford about future Conservative policy after the next General Election – should they win a majority of course.

He was asked about BSF funding and he said that he “thinks” the money will still be available. Excellent news.

He also said that it is up to us in Bedford to decide which school system we want to have. More excellent news.

As we know that the BSF funding does not cover lower-primary change and that this money will be coming out of school budgets probably for the next 25 years, let us decide positively to retain three tier education and to spend BSF funding wisely on our existing school system.

Also that way, if David Cameron takes office and discovers that the public finances are worse than he “thought”, that swingeing cuts will have to be made, and that BSF funding will be reduced dramatically, we won’t be left in the middle of a financial mess of our own making.

Day 131 – BSF in the News

Yesterday, Michael Gove, the high-profile Shadow Children’s Secretary, criticised openly the Building Schools for the Future programme, revealing that £170M had been spent on consultants with hardly any improvement to schools.

This was immediately rebutted by Ed Balls, who said that the BSF funding was not safe in the Conservatives’ hands and that they planned to make big cuts.

All good party political stuff which you can read more about here.

Both Michael and Ed seem to be saying things that are probably true though. The BSF programme is a bureaucrat’s dream, creating reams of paper, reports, feasibility studies, planning meetings, jobs for the boys, etc. Anything to avoid spending money on real children, real teachers and real schools. Any Civil Service scheme would be; will be, even under a Conservative administration.

The next Government, moreover, will almost certainly be forced to make cuts, and it might not just be the blues that do that; the reds, should they make a miraculous recovery in the polls, would almost certainly be forced to make huge cuts too.

It’s not about party politics here – it’s about the inability of politicians to control bureaucratic programmes.

The really interesting thing though, is that the Conservatives are so high profile on Education. Lots more changes ahead methinks.

Day 130 – The Mayoral Elections

The new Mayor of Bedford will be elected on Thursday 15th October but will only hold office until May 2011 (19 months) when they will be up for re-election along with every councillor.

The first major decision immediately they take office will be the School Organisation Review and the new Mayor will have a great deal of influence over the result.

This is why it is essential that opponents of the educationally unsound, financially unviable, and massively disruptive change to two-tier, take time to consider their positions (and votes) carefully.

This is also why it is also essential that candidates of all political hues make their intentions clear to everybody. The new Mayor may not make this decision on their own, but they should be able to show leadership. After all, if they can’t give a straight-forward answer on this (much debated) issue, how can we trust them not to be just another politician, in it for their own egos.

Only one candidate has been declared so far – Cllr Dave Hodgson for the LibDems. The BoS yesterday quoted him as saying, “We face enormous challenges such as the decaying town centre, the regeneration of the bus station area and the need for a quality transport system”…not one word about schools there…so we do hope Dave is intending to make his position clear sometime very soon…along with all the other candidates of course…

By the way, don’t forget that the Conservatives have announced that you can help them select their candidate for Mayor by attending their US-style primary on the evening of Monday 14th September. You don’t need to be a party member, and you don’t even have to be a Conservative supporter, but you do have to register by sending your full name and address to: mayor@bedfordconservatives.com.

Day 127 – £1 Trillion

£1 Trillion is apparently how much the country is in debt – according to the Daily Mail Comment today (so it must be right then…)

The Mail are commenting on the fact that both main political parties are rejecting a consultants’ report which says that job cuts of up to 10% are necessary in order to save £20 Billion over the next 5 years. The NHS, say both Labour and Conservative parties, is far too important…true, but I wonder if the next Government says the same thing when it is forced to cut costs drastically.

£20 Billion is only 2% of the overall debt, if the figures are to believed, hardly anything. £340M of BSF funding is less than 2% of the proposed NHS cut, so a piddly amount (although SMS wouldn’t mind this amount of small change).

There are going to have to be some massive swingeing cuts, and these are going to be coming very soon. BSF funding, especially for school system change, is a luxury compared to employing nurses, teachers, social workers, policemen…

Those people who believe the money has been allocated are fantasists – but we now have the opportunity to ensure that the next Mayor won’t be one of these, by electing someone with some financial sense.

Tell the Mayoral candidates what you think by writing to the Times & Citizen or Beds on Sunday or email the Stephen Rhodes breakfast show on BBC 3CR or Heart FM Bedford.

Day 126 – Congratulations !

One week ago GCSE results were published. Many pupils celebrated their individual success and our warmest congratulations to them.

The Bedfordshire on Sunday carried the yearly reports of the very successful pupils with hatfuls of A*s and the Borough commended its schools with a webpage of results.

Now these results are very interesting…if you average the schools’ 5 A*-C results then overall you get 68.4%…compared to a national average of 67.1%…so we could be said to be better than the national average.

And this despite spending £220 less per pupil than the national average.

Surely the consultation document told us that we were considerably worse than the national average on this measure?

The truth is that, since 2006 when the last damaging proposal to change to two-tier was thrown out by county councillors, results have improved year-on-year.

And of course, statistics tend to hide all sorts of real stories, concerning real schools and real pupils.

So let’s focus on the real issue of ensuring that we save three tier education in Bedford by voting in a Mayor who believes in it wholeheartedly.

Day 125 – Lord Baker’s Technical Revolution

Lord Baker was in the news yesterday linked with schools – again – you may recollect him from the early days of the National Curriculum and from when “Baker Days” were introduced.

SMS heard him on the Today Programme on Radio 4 enthusing over technical schools, something that has been reworked from Butler’s 1944 Education Act (there are no new ideas in education remember).

This time the schools will be University or FE college-sponsored; of high status; similar to Germany’s very popular technical schools.

This time, however, technical education will be aimed at over 14s…or…err…upper school age children. Lord Baker was particularly at pains to point out that 11 was too young to make decisions about the future but that 14 was just right.

Apparently the idea has all-party support, with particularly enthusiastic sounds coming from the Conservative Michael Gove, the most likely candidate to be Education Minister after the next General Election.

Vernon Coaker (another schools Minister – how many are there?) said “These are really early days,on this and we’re right at the beginning of our thinking. The concept is a good one: 14-19 schools specialising in a couple of areas of diplomas and core GCSEs with links to local employers”.

Remind us again why we we want to change our flexible 14-19 schools into 11-19 leviathans?

Day 124 – A Letter to Chairs of Governors

The following letter was sent on Friday 28th August by Save Middle Schools to Chairs of Governors of Lower Schools.

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F.A.O. Chairs of Governors of Lower Schools – Bedford Borough

Dear Sir/Madam,

HOW WILL YOUR SCHOOL BE AFFECTED?

During the summer break, and one week after the School Organisation Review consultation period ended, it emerged that the funding of converting 50 lower schools to primary will not after all be achieved by Council borrowing but by raiding the Dedicated Schools Grant received every year from Central Government. This may result in each school having to find 2% annual savings for potentially the next 25 years.

One can understand why our Council are considering this. The borrowing route will mean a 3.6% increase in Council Tax for 25 years. Projections for the current year suggest an overall overspend of £3million and recent budget projections (assuming no change to the school system and no remedial action taken) point to a requirement to increase Council Tax by £22 million up to the end of 2012/13. This equates to an annual increase of 7% which clearly the Council cannot justify; efficiency savings or cuts in services will be imperative.

One school governor with experience of school building projects has done his own sums on the cost of creating primaries and predicts that the total conversion cost is likely to be over £100 million and not the £60 million included in the consultation document.

Only you will know how difficult it will be to find sustainable cuts in your DSG monies of 2%, 4% 6% p.a.? Very soon, cuts in teaching assistants and equipment will be necessary; and all of this whilst governing bodies will be managing their schools through 5-10 years of unnecessary organisational change.

Many governing bodies of lower schools have supported the two tier proposal on the basis that it would provide opportunities for their own schools. However, in the light of this new information which was not available during the consultation period, your governing body should have the opportunity to reconsider its position and we hope, indeed, that you do so. As the consultation period has now ended, your only recourse now is to contact your local councillor and advise them of the consequences of such a decision for your school.

I am attaching a Press Release from Cllr Michael Headley dated August 3rd which supports our views.

Yours faithfully,

Tony Dadd
Coordinator, Save Middle Schools

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Date: Monday 3 Aug 09

Cllr Michael Headley
Press Release

Schools Budget To Be Raided For Tiers Change?

It has emerged that the Council is considering taking money from the budget for schools to pay for the change to a 2 tier education system.

They have identified a need for a possible £2.4m per year for 25 years to pay for the borrowing needed to extend lower schools into primary schools.

It had been assumed that this would have to come from the council’s general fund budget. However, just a few days after the consultation period closed it has emerged that the council are turning their attention to taking the money from the “Dedicated Schools Grant”, the vast majority of which normally goes straight to schools.

Cllr Michael Headley said “ It seems bizarre that in the name of improving standards the council is even considering cutting the money going into our local schools. Many people fear that a change of school system will be very disruptive for the education of the children caught up in it, but now we face the prospect of these very same children being short changed with cuts in the schools budget.”

“I’m not surprised that the council have at last realised that the expense of this project would be hard to find out of the council’s budget. But I’m astonished that taking it from the money destined for schools is seen as a better option.”

“No sooner has the consultation ended than we learn about this new development. We will never know if parents, schools and others would have changed their view if they had known at the time that there would have to be a 2% cut in the money going to schools to fund this change.”

“I know that superficially there may look like there are savings in closing the middle schools, but it doesn’t take long to realise that they won’t materialise. There will still be the same number of pupils needing teachers Heads and deputies at the enlarged schools will get paid more, whilst those at the middle schools will have protected salaries. Even the total floor area of all schools could well increase rather than decrease. I can see this cut in the schools’ budget ultimately resulting in a worse educational experience for the children.”

In 2009/10 the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) was £92,249,807. Additional school funding streams brings the total funding for supporting schools to £118,397,466. The £2.4m would equate to 2% of that.

ENDS