As a local father, educated in South Gloucestershire, I know that local parents, grandparents and carers want our schools to set the highest standards for our children, and receive the right level of funding to deliver the best possible education.

South Gloucestershire has previously been one of the lowest placed areas in the country for school funding per head. Local families were very clear that our community needed a better deal on education funding, and that the Government had to deliver.

With your help, I have raised this issue with Government Ministers, argued for in Parliament, brought a delegation of head teachers to meet decision makers and surveyed every head teacher in the area for their insights to help make our case.

I am delighted that together, we have succeeded. The Government has announced that schools are set to benefit from the biggest funding increase in a decade, with every single child in South Gloucestershire schools set to benefit.

We are set to see big increases, for example, Alexander Hosea Primary will see an increase in funding of 8.4%, Oldbury on Severn Primary of 12.1%, St Johns Mead of 7% and Woodlands Primary will benefit from an increase of 7.2%.

Our local rural village schools are also set to benefit, with Horton Primary School set to receive an increase to £6,176 funding per pupil, Rangeworthy Primary will now receive £6,040 and Tortworth Primary £7,211, meaning that our pupils in towns and villages receive the best education possible.

All of our secondary schools will see a boost, with Chipping Sodbury and Marlwood receiving an increase of 3.8%, Brimsham of 2.4%, The Castle School of 2.9% and Yate Academy of 3.1%, so that every single Secondary School Child can have the opportunity to get a great education.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities provision are getting additional investment, with a further increase of £730 million in Higher Needs Funding. This cash boost will mean that children with the most complex needs to get the education that is right for them in our community.

More money for schools, spread more fairly across the country, is all part of our commitment to level-up education funding, something we promised last December. This is an important success for our community and our children and would not have happened without the backing and support of local families.

And it’s not just more money for schools, but investing in and updating buildings and facilities that remains a key part of our Positive Plan for South Gloucestershire, including building two new primary schools in Yate, redeveloping Castle School in Thornbury, building a new special school at Marlwood, extending Old Sodbury Primary school, improving special needs provision and ensuring the implementation of £79 million of repairs and upgrades for South Gloucestershire schools.

If you have any thoughts about our Positive Plan for South Gloucestershire, and this investment in and cash boost for our schools, please do not hesitate to get in touch; luke.hall.mp@parliament.uk