BLACKPOOL schools are being given an extra £1million this year to help the drive for top class education.

As Blackpool Council takes control of education from Lancashire County Council this April, an extra 5.7 per cent is being pumped into the schools' budget, raising it to nearly £35.7million.

The cash is being targeted at boosting literacy and numeracy, special educational needs, improving attendance and behaviour, in-service teacher-training, school leadership courses for heads, drug prevention, security and general school effectiveness.

In addition, the council is pumping £30,000 into after-school clubs, and bidding for a £400,000 government grant to link schools via the Internet and £50,000 for summer literacy schools for children who need extra help with reading.

The £1m cash boost, which comes totally from the Government, is the fifth largest increase in the country, and is part of Labour's election pledge to raise standards in education.

Education chairman Councillor Eddie Collett said: "Overall we think these proposals will provide a backbone and a basis to move forward, playing a local part in the national drive to raise standards in education.

"Our target by the time of the next general election is to have between 81 and 84 per cent of children reading at the appropriate level for their age, rather than 58 per cent as it is now."

Blackpool South MP Gordon Marsden, who is on the standing committee preparing for the new Education Bill, welcomed the Government's recognition of Blackpool's problems and praised the council for channelling the full increase into education, which some councils have not.

"Blackpool has gone along with the spirit of the grant and I'm very glad it has," he said.

Bill Horsley, assistant secretary of the Blackpool Headteachers Group, said: "There'll be lots of benefits for us I'm sure, obviously there'll be teething problems but I'm quite optimistic."

There was close co-operation between his group and the new authority, he said, enabling them to thrash out problems and negotiate funds to be channelled where they are most needed.

Mr Horsley, head of Revoe School which is the largest primary in Lancashire with several over-sized classes, hopes to set up a summer literacy centre in co-operation with nearby Palatine High School.

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