LAMBETH PARENTS URGED TO UNITE AGAINST SCHOOL CUTS

LAMBETH PARENTS URGED TO UNITE AGAINST SCHOOL CUTS
 
Lambeth council leader Lib Peck has urged Lambeth parents to join the campaign against proposed government cuts to schools’ funding that could leave local schools hundreds of thousands of pounds worse off.
 
Government changes to the national schools funding formula will cut funding by hundreds of pounds per pupil for schools in London, with Lambeth one of the worst hit boroughs in the capital. Combined with increased pressures identified by the National Audit Office, Lambeth schools are expected to lose an average of over £550 per pupil in 2018/19.

Public meeting

Local parents who are opposed to the changes have organised a public meeting alongside the council to unite parents, teachers and local residents against the plans. The meeting will take place on Wednesday 15th March at 7pm at Sunnyhill Primary School (Sunnyhill Rd, SW16 2UW) in Streatham and will be part of the Fair Funding for All Schools – Lambeth campaign.

The meeting will be addressed by Cllr Peck, local MPs Chuka Umunna and Helen Hayes, the General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers and local parents and teachers.

Word from the Cabinet

Cllr Peck said: “Slashing the funding for schools in areas with some of the highest needs in the country is completely counter-productive.

“Since the initial announcement almost a year ago, we have opposed the government’s plans.

“Now that the full scale of what the funding cuts could mean for Lambeth’s schools is starting to become clear, many parents and teachers in the borough are rightly very concerned.

“We’re very proud that Lambeth education has been transformed in recent years, from one of the worst performing local authorities to one of the best. But that was made possible because of the investment in schools that this government now wants to put at risk and threatens to turn back that hard-won progress.

“I urge all parents, teachers and local residents to attend the meeting next Wednesday to make clear to the government that we believe in investment, not cuts, in our children’s education.”

Consultation

Lambeth council submitted a consultation response last year against the government’s changes to the funding formula and will do so again for the second consultation which closes this month.

Cllr Jane Edbrooke, Cabinet Member for Children and Schools and Cllr Claire Holland, Deputy Cabinet Member for Schools, have written to all head teachers to set out the council’s concerns about the plans and to invite all schools to attend the public meeting on 15th March. (Source: Lambeth council’s Love Lambeth website)