£16m boost for primary schools

Primary schools across Staffordshire are to get a £16 million boost for major building and refurbishment work, it was revealed today.

Headteachers and education bosses at Staffordshire County Council are now thrashing out details of which schools will benefit from the funding injection which has been pledged by the Government.

Some of the money will go to support work which has already started, including the £6.5 million redevelopment of Huntington Primary School, near Cannock, and the re-siting of Rocklands School to the Charnwood Primary School site in Lichfield.

The money is being pumped into the county's schools under the Government's national Primary School Capital Programme, and Staffordshire, which has 300 primary schools, will receive £6.8 million in 2009-2010 and £9.1 million in 2010-2011.

County council deputy leader Councillor Robert Simpson said: "We are delighted that we have been awarded this funding to invest in our schools.

"Staffordshire has a particularly strong record of achievement at primary level and we are excited that this extra investment will help us provide world-class facilities for our pupils."

He added: "This funding will support a number of priority investment projects that we have already consulted on and started, including the redevelopment of Huntington Primary School.

"We have been asked to supply some more information to the Government before our final plans are confirmed, and we are still working with headteachers to finalise details. So we aren't yet in a position to announce which other schools will benefit from this considerable investment. However, we look forward to sharing this news with teachers, parents and pupils as soon as we are able."

The Government has approved a total of £3.55 billion of funding for work at primary schools all over the country, paving the way for more than 1,500 projects to start.

It has promised to invest at least £7 billion to re-build or refurbish half of all primary schools by 2023.

Stafford's Labour MP David Kidney said the Government was keeping its nerve in difficult economic times by pressing on with necessary investment in education which would help boost the economy.

He said: "At this challenging time for our economy, it's vital that we sustain our investment in public services. This huge capital investment will not only improve the education of our children, but help to support jobs in the construction industry and local businesses crucial to fitting out the new and refurbished schools."