Holly has launched a petition against proposed changes to how our local schools are funded which would see many of them face a cut of hundreds of pounds a year in funding per pupil.

The petition is available to sign online here.

Holly said:

“These proposed funding cuts are talked about by the Government as making things fairer. Yet there is nothing fair about cutting funding for local children when their schools already face huge cost pressures.

“I have met with local Headteachers who have said in no uncertain terms that they will not be able to provide the same quality of education if these cuts go ahead.”

Even before the proposed new funding formula school budgets already faced extreme pressures. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) have estimated that increases in pupil numbers mean that per pupil real terms spending was likely to fall by at least 7 per cent between 2015-16 and 2019-20, or by about 8 per cent if changes in the costs likely to be faced by schools were also accounted for.

These changes will impact on all primary and secondary schools in Calderdale and the figures for every school can be found here (click ‘NFF all schools’ and then use ctrl-f to find a specific school). The proposals would see four local secondary schools see a significant fall in their budgets:

• Park Lane Learning Trust -2.6%
• The North Halifax Grammar School -2.6%
• Trinity Academy, Halifax -1.0%
• The Crossley Heath School  -2.3%

Cutting funding for the next generation’s education is never the way to find savings. A number of our schools already fall well below the average state school per pupil spending level of £6,200 a year at secondary level and £4,800 at primary.

Please show your support for our local schools and sign the petition here.