Lib Dem Pupil Pemium boosts spending on Barnet Shools (Barnet Borough Liberal Democrats)

Barnet Borough Liberal Democrats <info@barnetlibdems.org.uk>

Lib Dem Pupil Pemium boosts spending on Barnet Shools

January 3, 2011 10:12 AM

Sarah Teather MP speaks in the House of Commons

The Coalition Government has unveiled further details of the Pupil Premium - a key Liberal Democrat policy which will ensure that the most disadvantaged children in our borough get the help they need.

From April next year, every school in England will get £430 for each child in their school on Free School Meals. Based on latest estimates, this will mean at least an extra £3,630,920 for schools to spend in the Borough of Barnet.

Each year between now and 2015, the amount spent on this in our borough will rise - by 2015, the Coalition Government will be spending a total of £2.5bn nationally on the Pupil Premium.

This is money on top of what is already being allocated for schoolchildren - no school will lose money as result of the Pupil Premium. And it will be given to headteachers to spend at their discretion on what they think works best for their school - be it extra one to one classes, breakfast clubs or after-school clubs.

The Pupil Premium was one of four key front page manifesto commitments on which the Liberal Democrats fought the last General Election. Making it a reality will help improve the social mobility and life chances of hundreds of thousands of children from less privileged backgrounds over the coming years.

Matthew Harris, Vice-Chairman of Barnet Liberal Democrats, said: "Spending more money on the schools attended by children from the poorest homes will help those children to achieve their full academic potential, while benefiting all children at the schools concerned. I am very pleased that the Coalition Government is providing this extra money to our local schools."