Henry Smith MP welcomes £2 billion extra school funding, helping schools and colleges in Crawley with the highest real terms spending on schools in history

Henry Smith MP has welcomed extra funding from the Government, providing a share of £2 billion this year and next for primary schools, secondary schools, and high needs pupils in Crawley.

The £2 billion for schools over each of the next two years, announced at the Autumn Statement last month will increase schools spending to the highest real terms levels in history.

For a typical primary school with 200 pupils, the extra funding from the Autumn Statement will equate to approximately £28,000, and approximately £170,000 for a typical secondary school with 900 pupils.

Henry said;

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“I’m committed to ensuring young people reach their full potential, particularly those who face challenges or who need extra support.

“That’s why I welcome the Government delivering the highest real terms spending on schools in history, providing a share of £2 billion this year and next for primary schools, secondary schools, and high needs pupils in Crawley.

“This delivers on the commitment to provide a good education and deliver opportunity for all – wherever they come from and whatever their background.”

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has highlighted this uplift will mean 2024-25 will be the highest spending year in history for schools. In total the schools budget will be £58.8 billion in 2024-25 – meaning the Government is putting more into schools than ever before.

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Average funding per pupil for mainstream schools will increase by approximately five per cent overall in the next financial year compared to 2022-23. As part of this funding local councils will also receive an extra £400 million for high needs budgets to help support children with special education needs or disabilities.

School leaders continue to be supported by the Government to invest in high quality teaching and tutoring. Over two million tutoring courses have now been started and an additional £24 million is being invested to boost children’s literacy skills to support children adversely impacted by the pandemic, alongside £60 million this year and next for the Maths Hub Programme.

The Secretary of State for Education, Gillian Keegan, commented;

“Education is rightly a top priority for this Government and we will continue to strive to provide every child with a world-class education.

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“This Government recognises that a good education is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet when it comes to making people’s lives better. That is why we are investing an extra £2 billion into our schools next year and the year after – the highest real terms spending on schools in history by 2024-25.”