Oldham Liberal Democrat Councillors have all joined a call to Prime Minister Boris Johnson for real government investment to be made in education to provide further tuition to school children to catch up on learning lost because of Covid-19.

Local Liberal Democrat Councillors signed the open letter to Prime Minister Johnson, which is being coordinated by the teachers’ representative body, the National Education Union.

Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, explained why they had done so:  “Although the government has talked a lot about ‘levelling up’, investing to tackle inequalities in Britain after Covid, it has singularly failed to do so when it comes to the education of our children. The government’s own Education Recovery Tzar resigned in protest because only £1.4 billion was made available for extra classes on the school day to enable children to catch up on their learning.  He wanted over ten times that – £15 billion.  Clearly then the government’s current proposals are inadequate.”

Councillor Sykes is also especially concerned about the welfare of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.  “Reductions in the Pupil Premium will have a real impact in  Oldham, which sadly remains one of the most economically deprived and educationally disadvantaged places in Britain,” he added. “Not only do we want to see no cutbacks, we want to see more money invested to give all of Oldham’s children an excellent education to equip them with the skills and knowledge they require for meaningful employment and a fulfilling life.”