£190,000 boost for Westfield schools

The Coalition government has confirmed that an extra £1 million is to be allocated to York schools next year. The money takes the form of a “pupil premium” which provides funding to schools for children on free school meals. It was one of the four key commitments in the Liberal Democrat manifesto in 2010.
It is designed to support pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and is allocated to schools, who can spend it in whatever way they believe best supports children.
Children who have been looked after by local authorities for more than six months also qualify for the Pupil Premium.
In Westfield it will mean an extra £85, 888 for the local High School plus £53,192 & £51,240 respectively for the Westfield and Hob Moor Primary schools.
The allocations are the largest for any equivalent school in the City.
At the recent Liberal Democrat Party Conference, Education Minister Sarah Teather announced that the funding available for the Pupil Premium would be increased to £1.25bn. The funding available will continue to increase until 2014/15, when the scheme will be worth £2.5bn.
The funding means schools will now receive almost £500 for each child on free school meals to help reduce under achievement by pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.
This year York’s schools will receive over £1.2m in Pupil Premium funding, £200,000 more than they received last year.
The full list of local allocations is reproduced below. Further information can be found on the following web site: http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/settlement2012pupilpremium

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Folly

Grange Lane hedge damage

A new access to the Grange Lane Park has been created… only 5 metres from the existing gap in the hedge.
The existing access has been in use for over 20 years and has gradually been improved over the years with a bitmaced access path laid, poop scoop bin provided and gate installed to deter motorcyclists.
The new access is marked by two wooden posts and an expensive “public footpath” sign both constructed out of the kind of timber that usually becomes popular around 5th November.
The area immediately inside the hedge has been declared a site of scientific interest following rare flora being found there. Breaks in hedge lines are also discouraged by conservationists as they interrupt the migration routes of small mammals.
However, none of thus seems to have been taken into account by the Council who failed to consult local residents about their plans.
It is possible that the Public Right of Way needed to be diverted to conform with the arcane 19th century footpath maps that some officials find compelling. But the cost of doing that – no one would be likely to object – would be a couple of hundred pounds rather than the £3000+ which the current scheme will add the taxpayers bills.
The Council should publish their intentions to undertake work like this in their “Your Ward” publication. That way some common sense might be injected into the process.

Second access point