This is important as there are no venues available at reasonable cost to encourage the continuance of an alternative social life within the town centre other than that provided by drinking and gambling establishments or mass market coffee houses. Without there being a reason to frequent the Town centre it will soon be no more. The building is in itself a rather splendid example of a public assembly building of the early twentieth century and would be missed from the streetscape

It opens up more job opportunities for working parents with regards to availability, employers can be assured that parents will be punctual to work, it will ensure that children are getting a healthy breakfast, of which costs very little and at a small cost to parents there would be a profit which will free up some funding or add to the quality of schools through ptas.

Heads in maintained Schools in Devon are already struggling to balance their books and retain staff. This will be a cut too far and have a massive impact on School staffing, teacher morale and, ultimately, our children's education and futures.

Pelsall Library is less than five years old - it is in a state of the art multi purpose building £5.2m. Closing the facility now would be retrograde and a complete and utter waste of taxpayer money. Pelsall Library is enjoyed by all young and old - a lifeline to many and a hub of the Pelsall community

Put frankly, finances in our West Sussex Schools are at breaking point. If nothing is done there will be severe consequences for our children. Currently headmasters across our county are having to consider and actively plan to take any of the following measures to make ends meet: • Modified opening hours/days • Increasing class sizes even further • Reductions in cleaning • Non-replacement of staff when they leave/retire • A halt in all investment in books and IT ________________________ Did you know: • West Sussex is one of the lowest funded council in the country • West Sussex currently gets between £40m - £200m less than other regions for Education • In nearby Brighton & Hove each school receives £300 per pupil premium if they don't speak english as a first language. West Sussex schools get no extra funding for this. ________________________ Nick Gibb MP (for Bognor Regis & Littlehampton, West Sussex) The response from Nick Gibb has been very disappointing to both the headmasters and his constituents so far. In a letter to a local Head Teacher, dated 2 November 2016, West Sussex MP Nick Gibb (Minister for Schools) wrote: “In 2015- 16 we made a step towards fairer funding by adding £390m to the schools budget, targeted at the least fairly funded authorities, including West Sussex. The additional funding for West Sussex was included in their baseline in 2016-17 and is protected for 2017-18.” In this reply Mr Gibb MP doesn’t appear to be acknowledging the funding crisis in this reply. Especially since the £390m mentioned, West Sussex schools received less than £1m (£930k). This represents an increase of less than £10 per child across West Sussex. ________________________ The Worthless? West Sussex Campaign Head Teachers in West Sussex are currently running to campaign to gain additional interim funding of £20million beginning in the financial year, April 2017 with the Worthless? West Sussex Campaign for fairer funding. They need to do this because of long years of under funding by West Sussex County Council, which has now been compounded by the low level being carried over to the funding now allocated directly from Westminster. In their latest letter they said that despite the assistance of some West Sussex MPs and an debate in parliament (Nick Gibb was not in attendance). You can watch here: http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/9b387b6d-28f4-4e0b-9d87-ffd64d3ed678?utm_source=petition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=167761&utm_content=Parliament%20TV You can find out more about the WorthLess? West Sussex Campaign on facebook: www.facebook.com/WorthLessWestSussex

Many families struggle feeding their children at school. Weather this is through pack lunch or canteen money.

This is important because the majority of the people who are going to spend the most time in the building are the pupils and therefore their opinions and thoughts should be taken into account.

1. Existing grammar schools mainly benefit wealthier families. The vast majority of students sitting the grammar school entrance exams have private tuition for one to two years before the exam. This is unaffordable for low income families putting their children at a significant disadvantage when sitting entrance exams. 2. Consequently, Trafford grammar schools have very few students from low income families (receiving Free School Meals ). Whilst 19.4% of Trafford's students receive Free School Meals only 6.7% of the borough’s grammar schools do. The reason for the lack of FSM students at grammar schools is not that they are less intelligent than students from wealthier families; it is simply FSM families cannot afford private tutors to help them pass the grammar entrance tests. Importantly, these tests also include topics that are not taught in the National Curriculum at state primary schools, leaving those students whose families cant afford private tutors very much less prepared than those who can. 3. Furthermore, over four times as many children are admitted to grammar schools from private primary schools than children on free school meals. Private schools are not required to follow the National Curriculum and can therefore put much more time and resources into focusing on the grammar school entrance exams. 4. Since TRIES was established we are finding that more and more Trafford parents are against the expansion of selective education because of its impact on family stress levels and finances, its failure to meet the needs of children with special educational needs, and its judging 75% of those sitting the grammar entrance exams as failures at 11 years of age. One Trafford parent wrote to TRIES in 2016 outlining the stress and discrimination that Trafford's selective education system has placed on her family: "Despite being clever, and being tutored, my son failed, by five marks. He was 10 years and 6 weeks old when he took the exam and he says that he found it very stressful. (I’ve heard of children being sick as they wait in the queue to take the exam, because of the pressure to succeed.) My son may have just had a bad day, but now he is labelled a failure. Fortunately, he found the positive in the situation, “I didn’t really want to go there anyway, Mum.” However, he says that some of his friends who also ‘failed’ to make the grade now feel as though they are not very clever even though they are. These children are now 12 years old and have spent the first year of their secondary school careers feeling like failures. These are not necessarily children who are ‘less academic’ and will be better placed taking a technical career path (whatever that is supposed to mean). Lots of these children are bright, engaged and enthusiastic learners who want to do well. They just didn’t do as well in one exam, on one day when they were 10 years old. My son is a brilliant mathematician, a “maths genius” according to his maths teacher and he loves computing. His friend is a fantastic writer, but he struggles with his self-belief because he thinks he mustn’t be that clever… because he failed an exam. They will succeed though, but not because of the selective system. Any success they achieve will be in spite of it. But they will always carry the knowledge that they failed their 11-plus and that makes me sad. The selective system is divisive. This was demonstrated to me when we attended the open evening at our local grammar school, and the headteacher announced in his welcome speech that, “We only have the best of the best here.” I was appalled. What sort of message is this? If this is the message given in that school, the kids who go there can only end up thinking they are ‘better’ than others like my boy. How is this good for either set of children or for society? I have another younger son, currently in Year Five, who is dyslexic. I know that there is simply no point even considering entering him for the grammar school entrance exam as I know he would fail, despite being above average intelligence. It is my understanding that the grammar school makes no allowances for dyslexic children, such as extra time etc. This sends out a rather strong message that these children are not welcome. In Trafford children with SEN seem to be forgotten about, in favour of lauding our grammar school system. It feels very much like there is an ‘us and them’ situation in Trafford. Those parents whose children pass can feel somewhat superior, while those whose children don’t make it often feel resentful towards those who do. People won’t admit it, but that is the truth of the situation. It would be so much better if our children could attend an outstanding comprehensive where they could all receive the best standard of education, but without all the stress and division created by the selective system we experience in Trafford." Note: If you require access to the sources for the above facts please contact the petition administrator.

I am a disabled stepmother to a beautiful and bright 4 year old who started school this September. As September drew closer, I became excited by the idea of being able to have an active part in his school life, meeting other parents, and even helping out in school. But as I am also a disabled person, this dream has not been so straightforward. Whilst my appeal was upheld by the independent schools' admission appeals panel, this is not the case for all disabled parents who are allocated inaccessible school placement for their child(ren) under Birmingham City Council’s schools admissions policy. Many disabled parents are being given school places at schools that are both inaccessible to travel to and to get around. Had I not been successful with my appeal my stepson would have either had to have been home-schooled (which is not a decision I feel is right for him) or we would have had to pay out for before and after school care that we wouldn't actually need, purely because of being given a school place at a school that wasn't accessible for me to get to. Our case is not isolated. Across the country there are 2.1 million disabled parents, many of whom are either having to fit the bill of expensive childcare that they wouldn't need if they were non-disabled, or travel costs, which are frequently not covered by the local authority. Some disabled parents have even chosen to home school simply because the childcare costs are not sustainable. I believe that Birmingham City Council schools admission policy is both discriminatory and illegal as the city council does not often make reasonable adjustments for disabled parents and carers as is required under the equality act (2010). If Birmingham City Council changed their admissions policy it would be a step towards making disabled parents far more included in their children's education. It would be helpful for the Department for Education’s Schools Admissions Code to include guidance on how councils’ schools admissions policies should comply with their Equality Act 2010 duties around disabled parents request for an accessible school for themselves. This has been recommended on a national level by various charities - including the Alliance for inclusive Education

I am a student at Blackburn University Centre I have created a project linking with the LGBT+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexuals and Transgender plus) Community. I think there is a lack of support out there. There was support sessions in place but due to funding cuts the help diminished so I want to re-instate that to the public. So I want to have support sessions in place offered by trained staff in all schools, colleges and Universities. I feel that there is a need of this campaign due to a lack of understanding of the meanings and clarification of the LGBT+ Community. SO I want YOUR HELP!! Some facts - 58% did not feel that their school was a safe and welcoming place for lesbian, gay or bisexual pupils, also 13% said that reporting bullying actually resulted in anything being done about it. 50% of lesbian and bisexual women under the age of 20 have self-harmed in the past year, compared to 1 in 15 generally. (Stonewall: 2008) and finally LGB people are twice as likely as heterosexual people to have suicidal thoughts or to make suicide attempts. Also another shocking fact - Lesbian, Gay and Bisexuals people are two to three times more likely than heterosexual people to suffer from depression. I want your help so please sign this petition - I will appreciate it!

Nursery Schools in Tower Hamlets and across the country are under threat of closure due to government plans for the future funding of childcare. State nursery schools have very good outcomes with regard to closing the achievement gap and supporting children with special needs. State nursery schools are legally required to employ highly-qualified teaching staff, who are proven to give young children the best opportunities for academic achievement and enabling social mobility.

In school, I have been campaigning for Stonewall and by using the Stonewall website I have learned a lot about homophobic bullying and how it affects young LGBT people, while looking at homophobic bullying I read a story by the guardian that stated "Hate Crime is everyday reality for rural LGBT people". This is one of the biggest reasons I believe that rural areas especially need to run more services in support of LGBT people. I live in Somerset, Bridgwater and I only know of one group that people can easily visit name 2BU. Using the website I also read stories of children affected by homophobic bullying such as Mikey Barnes who said "I first came out at school at the age of 12 and it wasn’t always easy – a lot of students bullied me for it, and even the few teachers I opened up to told me that I was “too young” to know for sure. I struggled with my mental health for a long time as a result." I believe that many other children part of the LGBT community have felt this way before. I believe more support groups like 2BU or Stonewall support groups would be beneficial to many young people. Stonewall have a history of helping people internationally and locally to not only accept themselves a part of the LGBT community but have also helped to spread awareness to those who might not understand who the LGBT community are and what they represent. Through looking at the work they do around the world they help me understand the struggles the LGBT community have faced but also show how far they have come since the charity organisation started. I hope people look at the website to find more information and understand why there need to be more services available to young people who consider themselves homosexual. What can be done? I think it would be useful if more young LGBT people recieved support by having more groups that they can attend to talk about their issues. It would be great if there could be either a helpline or a way which young people could ask and answer questions anonymously. An increased awareness in school about homophobic bullying by providing schools with advice, posters ,booklets and training to stop bullying in schools.