Update on Free School Meal Cuts

FREE SCHOOL MEAL CUTS

In a low down vindictive swipe at the working Poor Theresa's Terrors cut to free school meals that would deprive 6400 children in Kirklees alone of free school meals.

The Commons crunch vote over the changes to the disastrous Universally Hated Universal Credits is a response to the sneaky attempt by Miserable Ministers to push through the changes last week on the nod. Thankfully the underhand dastardly deed did not succeed. The deed is even more dastardly is realising how bad it is Ulster is not included. Families in Ulster need to earn £14,000 a year before they receive their kicking, in the UK it is set to be £7,400 a year.

Unfortunately  Tory MP's have not a little bit of human kindness left to enable them to scupper this scruple less scheme.

Thanks to Huffington Post for the details of this plot, unfortunately for some reason the BBC have chosen to ignore it, perhaps the Public Schools that their children attend have also been given special exemption.

Just to point out to Huffington Post though. Kirklees is not a Conservative controlled council.

IFS warning over school spending

IFS warning over school spending

The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) has calculated that the equivalent of an extra penny on the basic rate of income tax is needed to protect schools in England from real-term cuts in spending. The think-tank says maintaining funding at current levels would mean raising spending by £3.7bn over the next four years. Headteachers across the south and east of England say more than 3,400 posts have already had to be closed at more than 700 schools, including more than 1,000 teachers. Some 43% of the heads at these schools feel their budgets are “inadequate” and 49% defined their financial position as being at "crisis point". Just 8% thought funding levels were adequate or good.

BBC News

SECONDARY MODERN PLANS

SECONDARY MODERN PLANS

When most schools (all but 2 in Kirklees) are seeing their budgets cut, the Conservative Government can find money for their plans to recreate Secondary Modern Schools for 80% of pupils. In conjunction with their plans to create more "Faith" schools, schools with a  reason for existence to promote division within society.

The only selective state school in Kirklees is Heckmondwike Grammar School. In the 60's 30% of  pupils in the catchment area went to the school,  70% going to the two secondary moderns in the area, this was always a high ratio as most Grammar Schools didn't like to admit pupils outside of the top 20%.

In the 60's places at the Grammar School were allocated by the primary feeder schools, and all pupils (theoretically) had a chance of being selected. Now entrance is by examination set by the school and parents put their children up for the examination. Affluent parents send their children for special tutoring to pass the exam. The school in its striving position in the league tables has cast its net over a wider and wider area. No longer satisfied from attracting pupils from Kirklees, it now has large numbers of pupils from Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield and even Barnsley. Obviously the parents tend to be better off, being able to afford the travelling costs. An interesting aside is that 50% of the pupils are now from the ethnic minorities, is that a comment on their abilities or the admirable ambition of their parents.

The school is no longer Heckmondwike Grammar School it is now "The Grammar School in Heckmondwike"

SCHOOLS SET TO LOSE OUT

KIRKLEES SCHOOLS SET TO LOSE OUT

You may have seen the newspaper headlines that indicated that only three schools in Kirklees gain from the governments (and by association Jason's) "fairer funding formula".

The schools set to gain if the changes survive pressure from MPs are Marsden I & N (£6,462), Lindley CE Infant (£7,728) and Kirkburton Middle, the winner, with an increase of £11,978.

All other Kirklees schools miss out and will have funding cut with the biggest losers being secondary schools, Holmfirth High losing £177,099.

This is on top of the £5.5m cut that the Education Department has made to the Education Support Grant that Kirklees got to support schools. This was an abolition in total of the grant, not a cut. This is also at the same time as the government plan to spend millions on divisive "selective" schools and even more divisive "faith" schools. They intent to continue building schools where there is no lack of capacity, not only wasting money (look to the embezzlement in Bradford) on the buildings, but taking funding away from existing schools.

 

Thornhill Mirror Mention

THORNHILL ACADEMY ON MIRROR  WEB SITE

Not the notoriety any school would wish on itself but Thornhill Academy was used by the Mirror to illustrate Tory School Cuts