One of the biggest issues in South Gloucestershire at the moment is of course funding for our schools. We are a member of the F40, a campaign organisation representing the 40 lowest funded authorities in the UK and I am doing my bit to raise the issue of South Gloucestershire’s schools funding with Government to ensure that we get our fair share.
The Government has committed an additional £1.3bn over and above previous spending plans on education and for us that means our area will benefit from an additional £8m over the next two years, bringing South Gloucestershire’s total education spending to over £200m. This is one of the largest funding increases in the country. In addition to that the Council is investing a further £78m in school buildings, including the construction of a brand new primary school for Charlton Hayes and the provision of two new special schools in South Gloucestershire, as well as a maintenance programme of new roofing, boilers, windows etc.
This is all welcome news, but we are not resting on our laurels on schools funding. I regularly visit schools across the area and in conversation with headteachers and academy trust executives I am picking up concerns and questions which I have been able to relay back to the Department for Education (DfE). The condition of some schools leaves room for improvement and this was something I wanted to bring to the attention of a Minister. As such I met with Schools Minister Nick Gibb at the DfE in London to discuss the matter and to invite him to come and visit our schools to see for himself, which he has.
He asked whether all schools had fully moved over to the new funding formula, from which our local area is set to benefit, and said that if some schools weren’t and were struggling they could potentially be fast-tracked onto that full allocation, which was heartening to hear. In addition, he pointed out that there is a Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) for schools to apply to for help with upgrading and maintaining school buildings and the School Condition Allocation (SCA) available to larger trusts for this purpose. This is something the Council Leader Toby Savage and I will be working on to ensure that schools are claiming what they are entitled to for maintenance. Perhaps most helpfully of all, we have made mention of some schools and issues to the Minister for consideration as he looks at the next round of education spending and there may be an opportunity for central Government money to be allocated to schools maintenance in our local area.
A vacancy has recently arisen for the post of Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Education, which I am proud to say I have now filled. APPGs are informal groups of MPs interested in a particular subject and I plan to use my position as the new Vice Chair of the group to raise the experience of education in South Gloucestershire to better help MPs understand the situation in the areas with the lowest funding.
I will continue to work with colleagues on the Council, in Government, and in schools to build on the achievements and improvements already reached and to keep advocating for better funding for South Gloucestershire’s schools.
