Pay £10 a pupil to save failing Walsall schools

A rescue package is being launched to save failing schools in Walsall, it was revealed today – with each being asked to stump up £10 for every pupil in a bid to speed up improvements.

morePalfrey Junior, Kings Hill School in Darlaston, Bloxwich CE Primary and Lodge Farm JMI in Willenhall are the latest schools in the Walsall borough to be told improvements are needed by education inspectors.

It comes after Leamore Primary, Willenhall E-Act Academy and St Francis Catholic Primary School, in Shelfield, were also placed in special measures. Now council bosses are looking to pump money into failing schools as part of a newly launched 'school improvement recovery programme'.

Schools are being encouraged to invest £10 per pupil, which will be matched by the council. There are more than 3,200 pupils at the seven schools – meaning up to £32,000 could be taken from their budgets if they agree to stump up the money.

The investment could be open to other schools, after the council's Labour group claimed that more than 14,000 youngsters in the borough are at schools that have been branded inadequate. Along with the £10 per pupil, another £150,000 would also be invested by the council, along with £150,000 left over from the authority's dedicated schools grant from the Government.

A report on behalf of the council's children's services says: "To accelerate the pace of change at this critical time, further immediate support may be needed." Of this, £100,000 would go towards supporting 'vulnerable learners' while £50,000 would fund 'developing leadership and governance'.

Interim director for children's services, Rose Collinson said the local authority had been working with Palfrey Junior, Kings Hill, Bloxwich CE Primary and Lodge Farm JMI to improve outcomes for children.

She added: "I am confident that all four schools have the necessary support in place to carry out the actions in their improvement plans and to ensure that these improvements are swift and sustainable."