Update: Friday 12th May 2023
Sir Robert Buckland MP welcomes £3,180,814 in extra Government funding for schools in South Swindon
- The Conservative Government is investing an extra £2 billion into schools this year and next, with every state school in England benefitting and schools in South Swindon receiving £3,180,814 in extra funding.
- The extra funding will deliver the highest real terms spending per pupil in history by 2024–25. A typical primary school will receive approximately an extra £35,000 and a typical secondary school will receive an extra £200,000.
- This is delivering on the Conservative Government’s commitment to provide a world class education and deliver opportunity for all – wherever they come from and whatever their background.
Sir Robert Buckland MP has welcomed extra funding from the Conservative Government, providing schools in South Swindon with £3,180,814, as part of £2 billion this year and next for primary schools and secondary schools in England.
Every state school in England will receive extra cash. A typical primary school will receive an extra £35,000 and a typical secondary will receive £200,000.
In total the schools budget will be £58.8 billion in 2024–2025, with the Conservative Government putting more funding into schools than ever before and school funding is set to rise faster than forecast inflation in both 2023–24 and 2024–25.
Schools received their first payment by 10 May 2023 and will be able to choose how best to invest the extra funding, including to pay for teacher salary uplifts and teaching assistants. The remainder of the £2 billion will be used to increase Pupil Premium funding rates, which are rising by five per cent in 2023–24.
The Education Secretary’s 4.5 per cent pay offer for teachers next year, alongside a £1,000 one off payment, is fully funded when combined with the additional £620 million of funding provided as part of that offer.
Commenting, Sir Robert Buckland said:
“I am committed to delivering on our community’s priorities, including encouraging investment in our schools to support young people to reach their full potential.
“That is why I welcome £3,180,814 in extra funding for schools here in South Swindon from the Conservative Government, as part of £2 billion in extra school funding this year and next across England, delivering the highest real terms spending on schools in history.
“This Conservative Government is committed to providing opportunity for all – wherever they come from and whatever their background.”
Commenting, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said:
“I am hugely grateful to all our brilliant teachers, school leaders and support staff for all their incredible work and the immeasurable impact they have on the lives of children every day.
“It’s fantastic that schools across South Swindon have now received new cash, part of £3,180,814 for schools in the area, supporting them with everything from staff pay to school trips.
“With school funding set to be at its highest ever level next year, even accounting for inflation, parents everywhere can be confident schools are being supported to let teachers get on and do what they do best - teach.”
The Conservative Government is investing in schools and colleges by:
- Providing £2 billion extra school funding this year and next, helping schools and colleges with the highest spending on schools in history. 2024-25 will be the highest spending year in history for schools – the total the schools budget will be £58.8 billion in 2024-25, with the Conservative Government putting more into schools than ever before (DfE, Press Release, 26 April 2023, link; DfE, Press Release, 6 December 2022, link).
- Providing £500 million for energy efficiency upgrades for schools and colleges, helping them to save on their bills. On average, a primary school will receive approximately £16,000, a secondary school will receive around £42,000, and further education college groups will receive approximately £290,000 (DfE, Press Release, 6 December 2022, link).
- Boosting schools and skills under the Levelling Up plans with 55 Education Investment Areas and extra funding and support for skills to Level Up across the country. Through the Levelling Up White Paper, the Conservative Government are targeting support to 55 areas across the country where school outcomes are weakest to target investment, support and action, including: retention payments to help keep the best teachers, new specialist sixth form free schools, and new reading, writing and maths targets (DfE, Press Release, 1 February 2022, link).
- Building new and improved facilities for 400 schools, giving more children the world class learning environment they deserve. We have announced that 239 more schools will benefit from renovation projects on top of the first 161 schools announced previously as part of our £1 billion School Rebuilding Programme, providing new educational facilities for pupils (DfE, Press Release, 16 December 2022, link; DfE, Press Release, 12 July 2021, link).
Update: Friday 18th November 2022
South Swindon MP Sir Robert Buckland Welcomes Schools’ Funding Increase As Part of Autumn Statement
South Swindon MP, Sir Robert Buckland has welcomed the news that the Conservative government will increase funding for schools by an extra £4billion over the next two years.
In the Autumn Statement today, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that the schools’ budget would be increased by £2billion this year, and £2billion next year, to help schools with rising costs as a result of inflation.
Sir Robert was one of several MPs who wrote a joint letter to the Chancellor last week, urging him not to cut education spending as part of the Autumn Statement, despite the need for sound money and fiscal responsibility.
The joint letter to the Chancellor stated:
“We believe it would be indefensible to cut education funding. On the contrary, we would urge you to invest more in the schools’ budget, particularly given the impact of the pandemic on children and their education.
“It would not be morally right to cut education funding at a time when so many children, teachers and staff are still working so hard to rectify the damage caused by Covid 19.”
The joint letter signed by several MPs including Sir Robert Buckland further stated:
“If you would like examples of savings elsewhere we believe could be made to allow this investment, we would be happy to work with you to find them.”
The letter further reminded the Chancellor of the explicit commitments made by the government to return schools funding to 2010 levels in real teams, and to a teacher starting salary of £30,00
Following the announcement as part of the Autumn Statement today, Sir Robert said:
“I regularly visit schools here in South Swindon, so I am aware of the difficult challenges that Head Teachers are facing, particularly following the impact of the pandemic.
“I am pleased that the Chancellor has listened and as a result, has agreed to increase schools funding by £4billion over the next two years.
“I will continue to work closely with all schools here in South Swindon, and when it comes to education funding, I will continue to fight hard to ensure that we receive our fair share here in the town.”
Update: Tuesday 15th November 2022
'We owe it to the children' - Swindon MP writes to Chancellor to demand more investment for schools
South Swindon MP Sir Robert Buckland is among 28 Members of Parliament who have written to the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, calling on the government to invest more in the schools budget, ahead of the Autumn Statement.
In the letter they said: "We appreciate the need for sound money and fiscal responsibility however we believe these cuts should be made within a framework of priorities rather than across the board.
"We urge you to invest more into the schools budget, particularly given the impact of the pandemic on children and their education."
The letter went on to say that it would not be morally right to cut education at a time when so many children, teachers and staff are still working so hard rectify the damage caused by Covid.
Despite the understanding that hard decisions are going to be needed, the MPs are urging the Chancellor to think about the country's children. They said: "We owe it to the children of our country to put them first even in times of financial hardship as so many families already do every day."
You can read the full letter here: https://twitter.com/RobertBuckland/status/1592222035316383744
One of my key priorities here in South Swindon has been making sure we deliver high-quality education services, supporting all our children from preschool through to college or university, and beyond.
I want every parent to be assured their children are getting the best possible education that they can so that they can fulfil their potential.
In 2013, I was delighted to be awarded the Grassroots Diplomat Policy Driver Award for my campaigning work on Special Education Needs, both locally and nationally. I am determined to continue this work as I have done in my whole time as a Member of Parliament.
To help our schools, the Conservatives are investing an extra £14 billion in school funding, meaning £5,000 minimum funding per secondary school pupil by next year and £4,000 minimum funding per primary school pupil by 2021-22.
On top of this, there is also a funding boost of £400 million in education for 16-19-year olds to give them the skills they need for well-paid jobs.
I want to also ensure that standards keep rising, which is why every school will receive regular checks and there will be an £10 million investment in national behaviour hubs.
To support our teachers, there will be the biggest reform to teacher pay in a generation, with salaries for new teachers to be increased to £30,000.
