Lib Dems determined to give children a fair and equal start in life

10.29.02am GMT Mon 1st Feb 2010

Lib Dems want to change the fact that children's performance in schools in the UK depends on their background

Performance at school is closely linked to children's background. The poorest children are only half as likely to get 5 good GCSEs as other children. Too often, the poorest children start school already struggling and fall further behind as they grow older. To give every child a fair start, the Lib Dems will spend an extra £2.5bn on schools. The money will be targeted at schools taking on children who need more help, but will benefit every child in every school.

The cash can be used to cut class sizes and provide one-to-one tuition or catch-up classes, ensuring every child gets the individual attention they need. An average primary school could cut class sizes to 20. An average secondary school could see classes of just 16.

Take an average primary school of just over 200 pupils. With an average number of children eligible for free school meals, this school could see an extra £90,000 in its budget. That would be enough to cut class sizes from 27 to 20. Just imagine what a difference that would make - ensuring every child gets the individual attention they need to thrive.

Take an average secondary school, with a roll of 1,000 pupils. It could expect around £400,000 more every year than it gets now, which would have an enormous impact. They could recruit a dozen extra teachers and cut classes to 16. Or they could pay for catch-up classes for 160 pupils, making sure no-one who struggles gets left behind.

Schools taking disadvantaged children aren't getting the money they need to cut class sizes and provide them with extra support. The existing methods for distributing deprivation related funding are confusing and inconsistent. Nearly 1 in three FSM pupils at secondary school attend relatively affluent secondary schools . Area based targeting therefore misses a large proportion of the poorest pupils - including in many rural areas. As a result, there is a huge gap between poor children in different parts of the country: in Kensington and Chelsea, 59% of poor children get 5 good GCSEs, while in Rutland, it's 14%.

The Lib Dems' Pupil Premium would be available to the school which each disadvantaged pupil attended. It would be attached to those children entitled to Free School Meals - the million poorest children. The Pupil Premium would be set nationally and it would top up a national per-pupil base funding figure. It will raise the poorest children's school funding to private school levels, with the average school receiving around £2500 extra for every child entitled to free school meals on their roll.

Figures are available for the predicted amount of money each local authority will receive, and can be calculated for individual schools.

This policy costs £2.5bn a year, and will be introduced in the second year of the Parliament after our jobs stimulus package, paid for from savings in government such as our proposed reforms to tax credits (which will save £1.5bn) and administrative savings in the Department for Education and quangos (which save an additional £1bn).