Star comment: Battling for fair funding of schools
Selecting the right school is one of the most important decisions that any parent can make for their child.
Being at a school that offers the right type of education and an appropriate range of out-of-school activities can fundamentally improve a child's life.
Choices are frequently based on more than just results: parents will want to know that their child is receiving the correct level of practical and emotional support as well as being taught their ABC and algebra.
In Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin, local education authorities do a pretty good job of placing children into one of their preferred schools, with upwards of 98 per cent allocated a place at one of their top choices.
Only two per cent of parents are unable to place their child in one of their top three chosen schools. It is an impressive record and our education officers deserve credit for overseeing a process that is undoubtedly something of a challenge. The county is well equipped to match the needs and aspirations of parents and children alike.
Offer Day has become a hugely important event in the calendar for all committed parents. Most mothers and fathers treat the selection process with enormous diligence. They study Ofsted reports and undertake site visits. They speak to parents of existing pupils and do homework of their own. In short, they leave no stone unturned in their quest to give their child a good state-funded education.
The quality of education is key, of course, and it is important that schools in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin are equitably funded. The cost of providing services for smaller schools in rural parts of the county can sometimes be more than providing them in busier urban areas, where shorter distances and economies of scale yield savings.
And so, while our education officers can congratulate themselves on achieving one job to a high standard of success, there must be no let up in the fight to ensure that our schools receive adequate – and fair – funding.
Our political representatives must continue to strive to create a level playing field for all children, irrespective of whether they live in a town or the country. Recent reports of rural areas being at a disadvantage when it comes to education are a serious cause for concern and it is up to our politicians to fight for a review of the status quo.
