Support for struggling schools

Schools will receive up to £70,000 each

Secondary schools in England, which languish near the bottom of performance league tables, are to be given extra resources in a drive to raise standards.

Up to £70,000 will be allocated to approximately 500 schools which have a poor track record in GCSE performance.

No school should be left to fail, no barrier to learning should be left untackled

Estelle Morris

But there are strings attached, as regular inspections will monitor whether or not improvements are being made.

And the pressure is on - last year the government said it wanted all schools to have at least 25% of pupils achieving five good GCSE results by 2006 and no school was to achieve less than 15% by 2002.

While the struggling schools can decide how the extra money is spent, the government wants to see staff bonuses to help attract and retain teachers, more learning mentors for disaffected youngsters and the provision of extra books and other educational resources.

Announcing details of the scheme at the north of England education conference in Bridlington, the Schools Standards Minister, Estelle Morris, said the government was serious about breaking the cycle of under achievement in deprived areas.

"No school should be left to fail, no barrier to learning should be left untackled," she told the conference.

'Pressure and support'

The announcement of more funds appears to represent a shift towards more carrot and less stick for failing schools.

"Our approach is one of pressure and support," Ms Morris said.

"Whilst schools have targets and support from Ofsted to help them achieve them, we also recognise that some schools face significant problems that do require extra resources.

"I am confident that the combination of pressure and support for schools will help us to deliver for all our pupils the high standards which some take for granted," she said.

But, taking to the conference platform after Ms Morris, the Shadow Education Secretary, Theresa May accused the government of failing to deliver on education.

"Yet again those schools who are achieving success in challenging circumstances will ask themselves why their efforts are not rewarded but those who are failing find themselves being rewarded with yet more funds.

Creating perverse incentives whereby teachers get rewarded for failure is wrong

Phil Willis, Liberal Democrats

"But what is a failing school? Isn't it time we had value added tables showing what each school is really achieving in the quality of education it provides?" she asked.

Liberal Democrat education spokesman, Phil Willis, said the majority of teachers - who worked hard and achieved excellent results, often in difficult circumstances - would be disillusioned by the scheme.

"Creating perverse incentives whereby teachers get rewarded for failure is wrong," he said.

Qualified welcome

While welcoming the extra cash, the general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers, Nigel de Gruchy, said the devil was in the detail.

Golden handcuffs tying teachers to a particular school may not always be in everyone's best interests

Nigel de Gruchy, NASUWT

"Golden handcuffs tying teachers to a particular school may not always be in everyone's best interests," Mr de Gruchy said.

It would be preferable to see a good pay rise for all teachers and much better staffing levels for schools that face difficulties, he said.

The head of education at the Local Government Association, Graham Lane, said the cash would ensure the most needy schools were targeted.

"The good work of LEAs and schools has been acknowledged by the government and this is why today's announcement will place local authorities in a good position to raise standards," he said.