LIB DEMS PROMISE CASH FOR POOR PUPILS

10.05.03am GMT Wed 3rd Feb 2010

Nick Harvey says: "While we have some excellent schools in our area, Lib Dem proposals to reduce class sizes and increase school budgets can only be good news. These proposals are especially designed to help low income families in North Devon."

Every child from a poor home would get a £2,500 boost to their education under the Lib Dems. Party Leader Nick Clegg, who was recently in North Devon, has pledged to bring spending up to the level of independent schools.

The money is part of a £2.5bn 'pupil premium scheme' which would ensure all schools get a cash bonus for every child on free school meals.

The extra cash would be found by making savings elsewhere in the education budget, such as scrapping education quangos, reducing spending on testing and the national curriculum (whose compulsory element would be reduced to a core curriculum in the basics).

Nick Clegg explains: "The extra cash would allow the average primary school to reduce classes from 27 to 20 pupils giving them an extra £90,000, and the average secondary school would receive £400,000 extra to spend as they wish."