The budget and school funding

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What are the implications of the June 2010 budget and the constraints on government spending for schools and pupils? Mike Baker investigates. We look at how planned cuts in government funding will affect school budgets as well as plans for the Pupil Premium, extra cash targeted at the most disadvantaged children; and examine the implications for capital spending such as the Building Schools for the Future fund. We discuss the Pupil Premium with Luke Sibieta of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Lindsey Wharmby, a school funding expert, and Mary Bousted of the ATL, looking at whether this might lead to the introduction of a national funding formula. Mike Baker visits Bishop Challoner School, Tower Hamlets, which serves an area with high levels of deprivation - the sort of school that should benefit from Pupil Premium. We interview headteacher Catherine Myers OBE and investigate what level of Pupil Premium the school would need to make a difference, and how it would use the extra money.