LABOUR candidate for Mid Worcestershire Helen Russell has backed a national campaign calling for an end to the continued cuts to funding for schools and challenged fellow hopefuls to follow her lead.
Miss Russell signed the ‘Stop the Schools Cuts’ election pledge, where she has committed if elected as the MP to fight for every school to have the adequate funding it needs to deliver a high-quality education for every child.
Recent figures from the National Education Union show four in five local schools will have lost large amounts of funding in the last five years.
Droitwich Spa High School will have lost £1.1million in the period 2015 to 2020, according to the figures, and will see further losses of £185 per pupil from April.
Westlands First School, in an area with one of the highest rates of local poverty, will have lost more than £300,000 in the five years.
Witton Middle School (£400,000) and St Peter’s (£150,000) will also have seen huge losses since 2015 and their modest increases in annual per pupil funding will do very little to offset the past cuts.
Only Chawson First School gained funding over the last five years and will get a further £115 per pupil from April.
Miss Russell, who previously worked for the school teachers union, the NASUWT, said: “The figures speak for themselves – some of the hardest hit schools serve the most disadvantaged local areas, where education can make the biggest difference to children’s life chances. That is why Labour is committed to reversing these past cuts and investing in our future by properly resourcing education and other public services.
“The Conservative Party claims ‘austerity is over’ and their pledges to ‘focus on investment in schools’ with ‘more funding for every pupil in every school’ is at best misleading and at worst hypocritical.
“If they are serious about stopping the cuts the local candidates will join me in signing the Stop the Schools Cuts pledge.”
