Cuts will hit our schools

• WESTMINSTER Conservatives say they plan to cut £2.2million from the education budget over the next two years and, at the same time, increase the number of pupils achieving five good GCSEs.
Do the Conservatives think that we all fools and we will believe this obvious nonsense?
The facts of the matter are that the recent Education Commission found a long list of council failures which have damaged children’s education in Westminster.
These failures include “a lack of mutual trust and some evidence of blame culture between the authority and the schools community”, “an absence of regular contact between schools and senior children’s services officers” and a “lack of support available for those children with behavioural and emotional difficulties”.
How can we believe a word that Westminster Conservatives say about education when the recent Education Commission reported that “one headteacher, from a secondary school yards from Westminster City Hall, told the commission that he had only received one visit from the director of children’s services in over five years of leading the school.”
Westminster schools face a tough time under the Conservatives with another £2.2million being cut over the next two years.
And this from a Conservative council which happily spends more than £3million a year on publicity and “spin”!
As someone said recently, “we can’t go on like this”.
CLLR PAUL DIMOLDENBERG
Leader of the Labour Group

Striving to improve

• YOUR article (Bid to solve GCSE grades crisis, January 8) presents an entirely wrong impression of what Westminster City Council is trying to do to boost educational achievement.
We are striving to improve the life chances of children and that is precisely why the council leader Colin Barrow instigated Westminster’s Education Commission – made up of independent nationally recognised education experts – who heard a wealth of evidence over six months from teachers, parents and policy makers.
It is correct to say   the commission made   a series of recommendations which we welcome as our aspiration is to provide all children and young people with the best possible opportunities.
However, it is important to note the commission acknowledged much of the excellent work that goes on within Westminster and that our schools have improved significantly in recent years with last year’s pupils achieving their best-ever GCSE results.
Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg’s comments are in particular wrong and unhelpful.
We have a belief that our schools and students can improve and we want to support them to bring this to fruition. 
The commission has given us a platform to make a step change upon which to build real improvement and turn aspiration into reality.
I don’t dispute that our aspirations are ambitious and challenging.
However that is precisely what is necessary coupled, of course, with our determined political focus to ensure progress continues to be made.
CLLR MARK PAGE
Cabinet member for children and young people