Bridgehall’s local Lib Dem team have praised the work of Bridgehall Primary school after it was promoted to ‘GOOD’ status by school watchdog OFSTED.
The school had previously been categorised as ‘satisfactory’ following inspections in 2008 and 2011.
But after the inspection at the end of February, school inspectors decided the school had improved to such an extent it was now ‘GOOD’ – just one place behind the highest possible assessment.
Ann Smith, who lives near the school on Sandpipers, is on the school’s board of governors and has seen for herself first hand the transformation of the school.
Ann said “I think I can speak for most people on Bridgehall and Sandpipers that the improvement of the school is a real reason for pride in our area.”
Stockport Academy will get than £261,000 extra money for kids from disadvantaged backgrounds after Lib Dem work in Government
Work by Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government has meant schools in Stockport borough have an extra £6.9 million next year, as part of the Lib Dem Pupil Premium policy.
The pupil premium was one of four policy priorities that the Liberal Democrats put on the front page of their 2010 General Election manifesto.
It is designed to give a cash boost of £900 per pupil straight to children from disadvantaged backgrounds through their schools.
Lib Dems believe that for too long, social background has been a deciding factor in a child’s chances for the future. The pupil premium is designed to help prevent children being held back by poverty and disadvantage.
The extra money will mean schools all around Stockport receiving extra money, including Adswood Primary School which will receive an extra £107,100, Westmorland Primary in Brinnington which will get £234,900 extra, Banks Lane schools which get an extra £83,700 and Stockport Academy, which gets an extra £261,000 for the next year.
Liberal Democrat Schools Minister, David Laws said:
“We are already seeing across the country how the Pupil Premium is making a difference to children’s lives. Extra tuition, better IT resources and closer work with parents are all examples of how the Pupil Premium is being used to support the most disadvantaged pupils and benefit all their classmates too.
“That’s why I’m so pleased that, next year, we’ll be extending the Pupil Premium to another half a million children, and increasing the money that schools get to £900 per pupil.
“This means that, as a result of Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government, more children will get a better start in life.”
Lib Dem policies at local and national level have led to a 60% increase in Stockport apprenticeships
Unemployment figures out this week show another fall in unemployment in Stockport.
Stockport’s unemployment rate is now down to 3.3%. This compares favourably with the overall 4.8% figure for Greater Manchester, the 4.3% figure for the North West and the 3.8% figure for the whole of the UK.
Significantly, youth unemployment is also down. The JSA claimant rate for 16-24 years olds was down 3.9% and the 18-24 age group down 4.2%. The results are good news for Stockport’s apprenticeship work, in conjunction with the Lib Dem policy pushed in government to boost apprentice numbers.
The results of this work mean that 6,290 new apprenticeships have been created in Stockport since 2010, a 60% rise on the apprenticeships created in Stockport under the last government.
Matt Gallagher leading from the front in the fight against organised crime
Today is your chance to vote for a Police and Crime Commissioner serving Stockport and the rest of Greater Manchester.
The election here is expected to be between former Stockport Police Inspector Matt Gallagher and Labour’s former MP for central Manchester.
Call the local team if you need a lift to vote on this chilly November day!
Opinion polls show that voters across the UK want someone with Police experience to be the first Police and Crime Commissioners.
Matt joined the Greater Manchester Police in 1978. He served for thirty years, constantly on frontline policing duty, rising to the rank of inspector.
First responder to the Manchester bomb, his no nonsense approach to both drug gang violence and racism and bullying within the police, his leadership in tackling some of the most serious outbreaks of violence in the cities recent history, and involvement in solving some of its most notorious murders, are just some of the hallmarks of an extraordinary career.
Matt has been married to Rhonda since 1981 and has two grown-up children. His son Will is a Royal Marine Commando and daughter Olivia is a Mobile Carer in South Manchester. Matt has two grandsons, Alfie and Leo. Since retirement he has been an active member of the Liberal Democrats.
Ann pushes her campaign for justice on Stockport’s Pure Radio
Ann Smith is campaigning for an official government apology for the policy of forced child adoptions in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s.
These forced adoptions took place because of social pressure on women who had given birth to children outside of marriage.
To make things worse, no information was provided to many of these women about any support that existed that might have prevented the forced breakup of their families.
Now Ann is taking part in a campaign to get a government apology about the practices, and took her campaign to the airwaves on Stockport’s Pure Radio.
“An apology won’t reverse the past,” Ann told listeners, “but women who had children outside of marriage were often stigmatised and then ignored. An apology can go some way toward helping the children and parents who were victims of this practice.”
