Boost for local schools in bid to tackle inequality 6 April 2015

Schools in Forest Hill have received millions of pounds of extra funding to help children from less privileged backgrounds get a better start in life – thanks to the Liberal Democrats.

Learning mentors, one-to-one tuition and after school ‘booster groups’ are just a few of the ways that local schools are using the money.

The money is coming from the ‘Pupil Premium’, a key policy in the Lib Dem manifesto at the last election designed to tackle inequality by providing extra money to schools based on how many pupils they have from less well-off households. It is a response to the fact that children from poorer backgrounds consistently lag behind in their educational achievements.

Forest Hill campaigner Alex Feakes, who is Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Lewisham West and Penge at May’s general election, praised the Pupil Premium for delivering extra funding where it is needed:

“It is a sad state of affairs that, if a child’s parents are less well-off, by the time they start primary school they are more likely to be behind the other children; they’re more likely to leave primary school unable to read and write properly; they’re much less likely to go on to get five good GSCEs, to stay on for A-levels or go to university.

“Liberal Democrats are determined to change this. We want to level the playing field so that all children can flourish – not just the well-off. That’s why, even in some of the toughest spending rounds in living memory, we have fought to deliver our £2.5 billion a year pupil premium – additional money to help close the gap. And the great news is that we are beginning to see its effects already.”

An Ofsted report published in July last year concluded that: “The pupil premium is making a difference in many schools… [T]he concerted efforts of good leaders and teachers are helping to increase outcomes for pupils eligible for the pupil premium.”

Alex, who is himself a teacher at a girls’ comprehensive school, added: “Liberal Democrats are fighting in government for a fairer society where all children have opportunities to succeed in life. Through the pupil premium, we’re starting to win that fight.”

How local schools are spending Pupil Premium money

Local schools have won awards for their effective use of Pupil Premium money.

Sydenham School‘s work includes one-to-one and small group tuition in Maths and English led by full time tutors, a full time Speech and Language Therapist and Learning Mentors. The school’s success gained them membership of the ‘Gold Club’ of London schools in 2013/14.

Eliot Bank Primary School have also won Gold Club awards and are among the top 250 schools in the country for educating disadvantaged pupils. They use their Pupil Premium money to fund reading buddies, small group support, subsidised school trips and school-run clubs.

All schools have webpages showing how they are using the Pupil Premium to help pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.