How Will The Election Affect Belper Schools?

The past seven years have seen a series of cuts hammer at our local schools.  The PE budget was cut in 2010 when Michael Gove cancelled the School Sports Partnership, which was aimed at increasing exercise for secondary school children.  Most schools have had to make redundancies as their budgets shrunk and were not adjusted for new costs (National Insurance and pensions increases) or inflation.  Belper School lost 7 members of teaching staff last year because it is illegal for them to go over that shrinking budget. As only the Conservative Party or the Labour Party can win the election outright and any coalition would have to renegotiate policies and budgets, I am only going to focus on the two parties whose plans could be applied in the case of a majority win.

These figures are adjusted for inflation using HM Treasury’s GDP deflator, based on the spending commitments published by the Institute of Fiscal Studies and manifesto pledges.  Anyone who wants to work out figures for themselves can use these resources, which include fuller figures than included here.  These figures assume that there are no changes to the 2016 National Funding Formula.

 

How will your children’s school be affected up to 2022?

Long Row Primary School

Conservative

The Conservative Party will cut the budget for Long Row Primary School by £29, 821.  This equates to approximately £102 less per child per year.  Long Row would have to fire one teacher.

Labour

The Labour Party will increase the budget by £59, 199, or an additional £173 per child per year. Long Row could afford an extra teacher.

St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Primary School

 

Conservative

The Conservative Party will increase St. Elizabeth’s budget by £13,224, or £61 per child per year. This equates to one extra teacher.

Labour

The Labour Party will increase St. Elizabeth’s funding £37,993, or £176 per child per year.  This equates to one extra teacher plus.

 

St. John’s CofE Primary School

 

Conservative

Under Conservative rule, St. John’s Primary School will see a loss of £38,785 from their budget. which is £187 less per child per year. This will lose St. John’s one teacher.

Labour

The Labour Party will give St. John’s £36,245, or £175 per child per year. St. John’s will be able to afford one extra staff member.

 

Herbert Strutt’s Primary School

Conservative

Herbert Strutt loses out the most amongst Belper primary schools under Conservative rule.  The Conservative Party will cut the budget by £90,886, or £454 per student per year.  This loses the school two teachers.

Labour

Under Labour Herbert Strutt gains £28,523, or £142 per stident per year or 1 extra teacher.

 

Pottery Primary School

Conservative

Under Conservative rule, Pottery School loses £27,946 or £87 per student and loses one teacher.

Labour
Under Labour government, Pottery School gains £53,831 or £168 per student and employs another teacher.

 

Belper School

The big one is the secondary school. Unfortunately Headmaster Martyn Cooper was too busy with exam season to have enough time to talk to us about the impact of Conservative policy upon the school but the potential losses and gains, following defunding and redundancies are huge and create a stark image of the consequences of the vote in either direction.

Conservative

Under Conservative rule Belper School will lose £508,228 or £579 per child per year.  Thirteen teachers will be made redundant.

Labour

Under Labour rule Belper School will gain £40,935 or £38 per child per year.  They can reemploy one teacher.

We go to the polls tomorrow.  Please get out and vote kindly.