CHILDREN in Warrington are being taught in overcrowded classes by overworked teachers, according to Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate Cllr Bob Barr.
“While funding per pupil is set to see the biggest cuts in a generation, billions of pounds are being spent on divisive plans to expand grammar schools and free schools,” he said.
Liberal Democrats would invest nearly £7 million in schools and colleges over the next parliament, he said.
“The funding would reverse cuts to frontline school and college budgets, protect per pupil funding in real terms and ensure no school loses out from the National Funding Formula. It will be paid for by reversing the cuts to corporation tax.”
Cllr Barr, candidate for Warrington South, said: “While funding per pupil is set to see the biggest cuts in a generation, billions of pounds are being spent on divisive plans to expand grammars and free schools. We will reverse crippling cuts to school budgets to ensure every child has the opportunity to succeed.
“A report by the National Audit Office has found that school budgets will be slashed by £3 billion in real terms by 2019/20 under current Government plans – the equivalent of 8 per cent per pupil.
It has also estimated that up to 60 per cent of existing school buildings are in urgent need of repair and it would cost £6.7 billion to return them to satisfactory or better conditions.”
Cllr Stefan Krizanac, the Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for Warrington North added: “A landslide for the Conservatives would allow Theresa May to take parents across the country for granted and cut our schools to the bone. Only the Liberal Democrats can provide the strong opposition Britain needs to stand up for communities in Warrington.
“Headteachers and governing bodies in our town have been outraged by the way our town has lost out from changes to the Funding Formula. £1¼ billion of our total investment will ensure no school here loses out from these changes.”
Cllr Stefan Krizanac
6 Comments
What a joke! Bob Barr professing concern for children’s education!
The last time the Lib Dems were in power in Warrington their executive board (of which he was a main member) unethically overturned the planning decision not to demolish the beautiful Victorian Stockton Heath Primary School – which had consistently rated ‘excellent’ OFSTED reports. This resulted in a modern monstrosity which for many years after was in ‘special measures’. What damage to a generation of local children has that caused?
Ensuring infrastructure was in place for future housing development proposals seemed to have been more his priority then!
You are on course SHA to being labelled a conspiracy theorist SHA, that’s BB’s usual response to criticisms like yours.
The nostalgia for the old Stockton Heath Primary School did not extend to the staff, the governors, or the children studying there.
I was shocked when taken around the school to see how many children were being taught in the corridors and how unfit for purpose the old school was.
Having spent the whole of my working life in Higher education I resent the suggestion that I do not value education and the opportunities it brings.
You may disagree with the decision the council took, but being abusive is not helping your argument..
Mr Barr, you say that the support for the old Stockton Heath Primary “did not extend to the staff, governors, or the children studying there”.
That is untrue. Some members of staff were against demolition, as were some governors, and there was a ‘Save Our School’ campaign by children studying there.
The school had been admitting pupils from well outside the catchment area to boost numbers to give the impression it needed to be enlarged – any teaching in corridors was staged.
On the campaign group trying to save the school were many people working in education, including; senior college lecturers, heads of dept, lecturers, school heads, & teachers. All with a genuine interest in education.
You may have spent the whole of your working life in education but you weren’t clued up enough to notice that at the planning committee meeting the then headmistress of Stockton Heath Primary was exhibiting clear signs that she wasn’t up to the job. She ridiculously urged the committee to embrace ‘a brave new world’ – not only using the quotation completely out of context, she also cited the wrong author! Younger and newer members of the teaching staff stated ridiculous reasons for the old school being not suitable, such as “the children cannot see well out of the windows”! If they were engaged well in learning they wouldn’t be looking out of windows!
It was certainly not surprising to campaigners that the school was heading for a long term in ‘special measures’.
I did not agree with the original legal decision the council took which was NOT to demolish the old school – I disagreed with the decision made by yourself and the Lib Dem administration to unethically and illegally overturn the original decision.
This was an act of gross abuse to the thousands of people who wanted the old Victorian building to be retained. It was also an act of gross abuse to the children who had to study at a school which was for years after in ‘special measures’.
You profess to “value education” but your actions suggest that what you value mostly are your political interests and aspirations.
obviously needs editing……. “I did not DISagree with the original decision the council took which was NOT to demolish the old school”.
I see you also profess to care about and to oppose the closure of any libraries in the town. The only library closures I can recall came on your watch when you and the Tories in your coalition of chaos shut down 2 , and that was before the brutal cuts to local government. The stuff you purport to support in the article, well It’s worth the same as the paper you wrote your Students charter on, completely worthless