Funding for Hollingwood Primary School

I rise to present this petition on behalf of the community of Hollingwood Primary School and the 343 parents, carers, staff and pupils who have signed it. They are seriously concerned about the impact that funding cuts are having on their school.

I would like to state, for the record, what an excellent school Hollingwood is. I know from visiting the school that the headteacher and his staff are continuing to provide a quality education for all their pupils. However, they are doing so, like many schools, in increasingly difficult circumstances.

As the petition states, the school has seen a decline in funding per pupil of £297, and an overall reduction of £249,153 since 2019. This is having an impact on the ability of the school to provide a well-rounded education for all pupils. Several parents have written to me to say how much they value the extra support the school offers, and their fear that this may not continue given the funding reductions.

Many are concerned about the school’s Busy Bees nurture programme, which supports the wellbeing of vulnerable children. The school’s nurture practitioner has written to me to express her concern, and to tell me the value of the support that they provide. She recounted one young person returning to the school and recalling:

“I have my family at home, but Busy Bees was my family at school.”

It is this sense of belonging and security that schemes such as nurture provide, and which we cannot afford to lose.

The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to increase per pupil funding and reverse the cuts made to school budgets.

[P002515]