Vicky Foxcroft MP for Lewisham Deptford & Shadow Minister for Disabled People
Next Thursday I will be speaking at a public campaign meeting in light of proposed funding cuts to schools across Lewisham. It is open to all parents, teachers and residents concerned by the impact of the Government’s planned cuts to local schools.
Lewisham Fair Funding for All Schools campaign
The meeting will be taking place on Thursday 16th March at 7.30-9.00pm in Edmund Waller Primary School‘s main hall (Waller Rd, SE14 5LY) and you can reserve free tickets for the meeting via Eventbrite. At the meeting I will be encouraging everyone to take part in the Department for Education’s consultation on school funding, which closes on the 22nd March. You can take part here.
Cuts to school funding is an issue which I am particularly concerned about and have been recently raising in Parliament. The Government’s proposed new funding formula will see schools in Lewisham Deptford suffer massively. Across the country, the average loss per primary school pupil by 2020 is £339, whereas in Lewisham Deptford it is 40% higher than that at £558. Secondary schools here will also suffer hugely, with an average loss of £717 per pupil by 2020.
This will result in fewer teachers, cuts to specialist support and cuts to the curriculum. The only new money being offered to English schools is to expand the few remaining grammar schools, regardless of where school places are needed. In a time when we should be aiming to do everything in our power to close the attainment gap, I fear the Government’s proposals will only widen it.
Ahead of the meeting I will be writing to every Head Teacher in Lewisham Deptford to encourage them to attend the meeting and encourage all parents at their schools to do the same.
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