|
Lord Adonis today announced that £10 million would be given to state boarding schools to extend provision for vulnerable children.
This injection of hard cash comes towards the end of the 2 year Boarding Pathfinder Project, in which local authorities have been encouraged to work with more than 70 boarding schools, independent and state,to include boarding as one of the options social workers consider for a child in difficult home circumstances.
SBSA welcomes the boost to funding for state boarding schools. Government investment in boarding, and its acknowledgement that a boarding education can provide a genuine lifeline for children able to grasp the opportunity with both hands, is a significant boost for boarding nationally.
Boarding numebrs in independent schools rose by 0.4% in the last academic year, reversing a recent trend for numbers to decline. This term seems to have started well despite the economic situation, with Brighton College, for instance, reporting its highest boarding figures since 1965.
Boarding numbers in state schools rose by 3% last year, an indication of the growing awareness of parents that a boarding education, with excellent 24/7 care and after-school activities and facilities on tap, is an invaluable investment in their child's future.
Today's announcement signals government awareness of the importance of making such an education available to the most vulnerable in society. | 
