Schools promised cash for books

The Lib Dems would give secondaries £4,250 for books

An extra £5 per pupil would be allocated for books and equipment under the Liberal Democrats, the party claimed.

Giving details of its policy for schools, the Lib Dem's spokesman on education, Phil Willis, said primary schools would receive an additional £1,250 and secondary schools would get an extra £4,250.

We will recruit more teachers, retain them and, more importantly, value them

Phil Willis

And there would be an extra 25,000 classroom assistants, meaning every infant class would have cover.

The money for these policies would come from the £3bn raised by adding an extra 1p added to the basic rate of tax.

Speaking at Hungerford primary school in Islington, London, Mr Willis said: "We are saying, rather than cut taxes, the money should be spent on education."

"There's a very real worry that when we move into the new parliament, particularly if there's a downturn in the economy, that the investment the Government has promised will not materialise," he said.

Quality for all

Mr Willis said the Liberal Democrats were committed to delivering a quality education for all children.

"That means increasing support for teachers to give them more time with children," he said.

Mr Willis said the party was committed to a quality education for all

"To do this, we will recruit more teachers, retain them and, more importantly, value them.

"Our package for teachers will cut red tape and reduce class sizes to 25 for all primary school children," Mr Willis said.

The party would pay all trainee teachers a full pro-rata training salary, based on the first point of the teacher pay scale.

Up to two hours' a week paid preparation time would be introduced for primary school teachers.

The Lib Dems also want to issue annual reports on schools' performance, so that league tables accurately reflect each child's progress rather than "crudely comparing each school".