A PETITION has been launched by Craven ward Labour Party members protesting at cuts to school funding in the area.

Organisers say primary schools in Steeton, Eastburn, Silsden and Addingham have all seen real-term reductions in pupil funding.

The party cites NUT figures which show cuts in the ward ranging from £264 to £400 per pupil.

Val Carroll, who is standing for Labour in Craven ward at the May council elections, said: "Schools have had to lose teaching assistants and other support staff, which puts teachers under greater pressure and means they have less time to spend with children.

"This must be having a detrimental effect on the quality of pupils' education."

The petition calls for the cuts to be reversed and per-pupil funding protected over the lifetime of this Parliament, together with a guarantee that no school will lose out as a result of any new funding formula.

People can sign the petition online at chn.ge/2H06HNg. Some retailers in the ward have hard copies.

The petition will be delivered to Parliament by Keighley MP John Grogan.

He said: "It is well timed because the Chancellor of the Exchequer is due to make his spring public spending statement in the House of Commons on March 13.

"Last year, after the General Election, he withdrew some of the planned cuts in school spending and the hope must be that he will now finish the job and end austerity in our schools.

"Our teachers need to be given the resources needed to educate the next generation."