12
www.bradleystokejournal.co.uk
t: 01454 300 400
April 2019
Schools
Trust CEO’s “lack of representation” gibe triggers
S
chools minister Nick Gibb MP has paid a flying visit to several South Gloucestershire schools, including Patchway Community School, following criticism from a local academy trust leader that the district’s MPs aren’t doing enough to push for an increase in the level of school funding. The visit came just three weeks after Dave Baker, CEO of the Olympus Academy Trust (OAT), appeared to be critical of Filton and Bradley Stoke MP Jack Lopresti for not attending a debate held in parliament to discuss a public petition titled ‘Increase funding for schools’, which had attracted over 100,000 signatures. Mr Baker tweeted “We are in the lowest-funded local authority area in the country and our MP was apparently not present for the debate about school funding. Looking forward to meeting with Jack Lopresti on Friday to talk this through.” Following his subsequent meeting with Mr Lopresti, Mr Baker wrote in an article published on the OAT website that he had shared his “concerns about our lack of representation in regard to inadequate school funding in our area”. Mr Baker went on to report that Mr Lopresti had “committed to requesting a meeting with Nick Gibb (minister of state for schools) in the coming weeks to share the serious concerns of school and trust leaders in South Gloucestershire.” He also reported that Mr Lopresti had pledged to liaise with other local MPs, including Luke Hall and Chris Skidmore, “so that they can show a united front in highlighting concerns from across the education sector in South Gloucestershire”. Noting that the Castle School Education Trust had recently been awarded £14 million in additional capital funding, Mr Baker added that he was looking forward to “an update in regard to the financial support also urgently required for schools
L-r: Cllr Toby Savage (leader, South Gloucestershire Council), Jack Lopresti MP, Nick Gibb MP (schools minister), Dave Baker (CEO, Olympus Academy Trust) and Karen Cornick (headteacher, Patchway Community School).
within the Olympus Academy Trust, and specifically at Patchway Community School”. Mr Lopresti later put out a statement that he had been unable to attend the debate on school funding because he was “in a meeting as part of my
government role assisting the Brexit Secretary”. He added: “I welcome the Government’s commitment to spend an additional £1.3bn on education above and beyond previous spending plans. In fact, figures from the independent
Institute for Fiscal Studies show that real terms per-pupil funding in 2020 will be more than 50 percent higher than it was in 2000. I welcome that the Autumn Budget reiterates the commitment to improving every child’s education, with
To advertise in this magazine or on our websites, phone The Journal’s sales team on 01454 300 400