Schools in Bethnal Green and Bow have been transformed over the past twenty years. From being home to some of the worst schools in the country, we now boast some of the best.
But their success is under threat from this Conservative Government. The proposed change to the national funding formula for schools will see £3 billion taken from schools around the country. Despite having one of the highest rates of child poverty in the country, the proposed cuts will mean the equivalent of 891 teachers and £905 per pupil in Tower Hamlets, according to the National Union of Teachers. Years of progress will be halted or reversed, and a generation of school children denied the opportunities they deserve.
The transformation of our local schools did not happen by accident. The improvements in Tower Hamlets schools were driven by hard-working teachers, extra funding and partnership with parents. The Government's proposed changes would be devastating to the life chances and aspirations of the next generation of children in the East End.
Despite a u-turn by the Education Secretary, Justine Greening MP on 17th July when she announced £1.3 billion for schools in England over the next two years, no new money was promised. Instead the Government will take this £1.3 billion from other areas of education funding. Even if this announcement helps local schools around the country, there is still a black hole of £1.7 billion of cuts.