Lichfield & Tamworth Liberal Democrats

Jenny is ideally qualified to speak for Tamworth families on education issues. She has lived and worked in Tamworth for thirty years. She taught in three local High Schools, working as a Special Needs Co-ordinator and most recently as an Inclusion Manager. She is now Chairman of Governors at her local Community Primary School. Jenny says: “During the campaign so far I have been meeting and talking to many local people,

whether in the town centre or on the doorstep. One theme that keeps cropping up is the need to ensure that all our youngsters get a fair start to their schooling. That’s why we Liberal Democrats will make extra funding available - an extra £31.6 million in Staffordshire - to ensure that our children get the help they need. Having worked so long in Special Needs and in ensuring that every child is included in the wider curriculum I know how much this extra funding is needed and how valuable it can be. “Our local schools will be able to use this supporting funding as they see fit, whether to reduce class sizes or to provide one-to-one tuition or catch-up classes. We trust teachers and schools to do the right thing. There has been too much interference and direction from Whitehall. Through our ‘Pupil Premium’ the average primary school could cut class sizes to 20 with the average secondary school seeing a reduction to 16.

 

“The Conservatives have a similar policy - except that they will not provide the extra funding, so the money will have to come from cuts in other areas of the education budget. They must explain to parents where these cuts will fall. Our proposal is fully costed and we have explained clearly where the money will come from. We will bring the funding for these disadvantaged children up to levels enjoyed by pupils in private schools.

“Education has long been a cornerstone of our party’s policy. We have been proved right in our consistent calls for increased investment, particularly in early years education. That’s why the Pupi lPremium is at the core of our programme for the next parliament. Nick Clegg is as passionate as I am about the way a child’s background can adversely affect its life chances. It’s wrong that the children from the most disadvantaged background should fall behind in early years and fall even further behind as they progress through school. Tinkering with the system and intrusive interference in schools hasdevalued the professional status of our teachers and has failed to make an impact on the problem.

 

“If you can, please read our full education proposals in our manifesto which you can read and download free by going to www.libdems.org.uk . Please use your vote for me on May 6th and give a helping hand to children who need it.”