Councillor calls on Committee to reject school cash share out plans

10.51.43am GMT Sat 8th Dec 2007

Councillor David Ward has hit out at the way extra money for schools is being shared out.

He said,

' The Council budget back in February approved £1.5m to be to Primary schools struggling to achieve basic targets. The new Contract Monitoring Board in September recommended that £450,000 of this money should go to Education Bradford. The Chair of the Young People and Education Improvement Committee was apparently quite happy with this and did not believe it was necessary to seek the views of his own Committee. The Improvement Committee will at last be given the chance to discuss this huge increase in funding to Education Bradford - but just one day before it goes to the Executive for a decision.

On top of that, none of the schools who might benefit from this money have been consulted about how it could be used. When I asked for a list of the schools so that I could contact them myself to seek their views I was told I couldn't have it.

This secretive, paternalistic approach does nothing to help struggling Primary schools and was not what was intended when the money was put in the budget.

When the Improvement Committee meets I would urge the members of the Committee to recommend to the Executive that no decision is made until full discussions have taken place with the schools involved in this initiative.'