EAST Cheshire schools may have a beacon of hope for better funding following a meeting between head teachers and the Schools Minister.

Rachel Bailey, leader of Cheshire East Council joined with some of the borough’s MPs to support head teachers at the meeting in London on January 9.

The ten person delegation, which also included Jacky Forster, director of education at Cheshire East Council and MPs David Rutley for Macclesfield and Antoinette Sandbach for Eddisbury, was arranged by Fiona Bruce MP for Congleton to discuss the government’s recent proposals to review the National Funding Formula.

If accepted, the plans would see east Cheshire as the most poorly funded local authority per head for education, at £4,222 for each child.

Ms Bailey, leader at CEC added: “We will work together with our local MP’s and schools to ensure that the Minister is provided with some practical solutions which will protect the current outstanding education and skills offer across Cheshire East.

“Our children and young people have a right to at least the same minimum national curriculum offer and opportunities which other similar schools and authorities will have the funding to provide.”

Mrs Bruce MP spoke in the House of Commons in December to highlight the difficulties that schools in the borough faced as part of the existing poor funding and the ‘devastating’ effect that the proposed formula would have on the quality of education across Cheshire East schools.

But Mrs Bruce was positive about the outcome, saying: “The length of time the Schools Minister gave to the meeting, far longer than usual for a ministerial meeting, and the manner in which he listened intently and agreed to work further with local head teachers on essential pupil funding levels, shows that there is a case to answer for reviewing these proposals.

“The meeting was a constructive start to making a case on behalf of pupils and schools here in the Congleton Constituency and wider Cheshire East area.”

Fiona Bruce MP spoke in the House of Commons in December and highlighted the difficulties that schools in Cheshire East faced as part of the existing poor funding and the ‘devastating’ effect that the new proposed formula would have on the quality of education across all schools in Cheshire East, including Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, citing head teacher, Denis Oliver’s options for funding cuts including cutting all teaching assistants across the board.

Ms Bailey, leader at CEC added: “We will work together with our local MP’s and schools to ensure that the Minister is provided with some practical solutions which will protect the current outstanding education and skills offer across Cheshire East.

“Our children and young people have a right to at least the same minimum national curriculum offer and opportunities which other similar schools and authorities will have the funding to provide.”