The heavily anticipated 2017 Budget is set to be revealed on Wednesday, with the chancellor expected to confirm £320 million worth of funding for the improvement of schools across the country.
The money is set to be used for the creation of 140 new free schools, in addition to the 500 set to be introduced by 2020. The funding will also set into motion the Government’s plan to reintroduce selective grammar schools – a plan which has not been without controversy.
The government’s opposition have been fiercely critical of the initiative, arguing that the funding should be used for the development of existing state schools, with the proposed investment only placing educational institutions under further strain.
Back in September, current Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn launched a new campaign to oppose the government’s grammar school initiatives. Similarly, at the September Labour party conference, Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner MP argued:
“Selection – or segregation as it should be called – entrenches division and increases inequality.”
Nevertheless, Prime Minister Theresa May, who herself was educated at a grammar school, has argued that such schools will provide greater choice for parents.
“For too many children, a good school place remains out of reach with their options determined by where they live or how much money their parents have
“Over the last six years, we have overseen a revolution in our schools system and we have raised standards and opportunity, but there is much more to do”, she added.
In addition, the funding is also set to establish transport for children from the poorest families, to ensure they are able to attend the new school locations.
The Prime Minister also confirmed that a Government White Paper on schools is set to be revealed in upcoming weeks. The plan is said to reveal plans to initiate a reversal on the ban on new grammar school institutions that has been enacted since 1998, under the Blair New Labour Government.
“It will remove the barriers that prevent more good faith-based free schools from opening, and it will enable the creation of new selective free schools so that the most academically-gifted children get the specialist support to fulfil their potential regardless of their family income or background”, she added.
Current Chancellor Phillip Hammond is set to reveal his Budget 2017 on Wednesday. Read coverage of last year’s Autumn Statement here.