Schools & Young People

Helping our children & young people through the financial crisis

What we've done

• Proposed a trial of a free schools’ breakfast club to help address child food poverty.
• Our attempt to use some of this year’s annual budget surplus, in helping schools meet increased energy bills, was rejected by Labour.
• Suggested a scheme, voted down by Labour and the Conservatives, creating a new “schools’ bonus” requiring developers to pay into a special schools’ fund on receipt of planning permission.
• Sought to make Labour honour their pledge to keep Little League free, defeated by a coalition of Conservative and Labour councillors.
• Submitted a plan, defeated by Labour, to review Merton’s struggling mental and sexual health services for young people.

What we'll do

• Trial free breakfast clubs in primary schools across the borough.
• Make sure the Council budget surpluses are partly used to help schools meet their increased energy bills.
• Fight for fairer funding by calling on Government to ensure no school loses out under new funding formula.
• Support establishing more Council-run schools for children with special educational needs to reduce Council overspends on private providers.
• Reform Merton’s mental and sexual health services for young people with particular emphasis on improving Merton’s eating disorder provision.
• Work with Merton’s professional & amateur clubs to get more young people playing sport and exercising.