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Schooling must not be affected

From the archive, first published Saturday 4th Feb 2006.

Once again, the provision of education in the Bradford district is proving to be problematic as an Audit Commission report into the running of the service by Education Bradford reveals heavy financial problems.

Many will recall how their parent private company Serco was brought in to improve the performance of Bradford schools after a stark warning to the local education authority by central government that things had to get better.

As the halfway point of the ten-year contract granted to Serco nears, it has become apparent that the financial problems are certainly no closer to being solved. Serco's targets have twice been made easier with regards to the level of performance they are expected to bring Bradford's schools up to.

Now, according to the Audit Commission, it has emerged that Serco has had to spend £8.5 million more than they earned to keep education in Bradford afloat. The recommendations from the Commission are that significant cuts are going to have to be made to balance the books.

The question that now needs to be addressed is where are these cuts going to be made?

Will Serco need bailing out by Bradford Council, in which case will money that would be spent on other services be put into education? Or, will Serco have to streamline its services and operations, and what will this mean for the running of our schools?

Steps must now be taken at all costs to ensure that whatever action is taken, whether by Serco, Bradford Council or at a higher governmental level, it is not the education of Bradford's young people which is the ultimate victim.

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