Tory primary school PE pledge is just £7 a year per pupil

What difference will £7 a year make?

The Conservatives will only spend £7 per pupil per year on their manifesto pledge to “invest in primary school physical education teaching”.

The party has costed this policy at £32m a year by the second year of parliament. As there are 16,769 primary schools in England, this adds up to just over £1,900 per school.

As there are on average, 281 pupils in a primary school, the per-pupil funding is just £7 a year.

The National Education Union has said the policy is “absurdly-funded”. They added: “Although the Conservatives have not fleshed out the policy, we worry it will result in an additional financial burden on schools.”

According to the fact-checking agency Full Fact, school funding has declined 8% in real terms between 2009/2010 and 2017/2018.

These school cuts have led to teachers paying for school materials like books and art supplies out of their own pockets.

A Conservative Party spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment.

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