18/03/2017 North West Tonight

Hundreds of parents and teachers marched through Sandbach today

to voice their fears that schools in the area will be hit

They're angry the Government's proposed new funding formula

would reduce spending per pupil in Cheshire East to among

Other parts of the North West would gain.

Pupils and their families joined teachers today to protest

The Department for Education says the current system is unfair,

and the new national funding formula is aimed at narrowing the gap

between schools in affluent and deprived areas.

It would reduce spending per pupil in Cheshire East

to just under ?4200, among the lowest in the country.

While other parts of the North West would gain.

In Knowsley, for example, it would go up to just over ?5,000.

There's a basic amount that every single school needs to be able

to provide the range of provision that schools are

And we've talked to them about what that amount is,

and what they're proposing is way below that amount.

The Department for Education says school funding

is at its highest level on record, and that the consultation that ends

next week is aimed at making sure they get it right.

But in areas like this, the plans face strong opposition.

I think for extracurricular activities especially,

they may get the basic education, but it's the extracurricular stuff

that adds real value for the children.

The overall level of funding isn't high enough.

There's less teachers, so that can't be a good thing, can it?

So, you know, that's going to have an impact on class

The Government hopes its plans will make school funding more

consistent across the country, but many here believe more

funding is needed overall, so no-one should lose out.

Police in Oldham have released photos of two women

they want to speak to in connection with a spate of so-called

distraction thefts over the past five months.

More than ten thefts have been reported where the thieves have

distracted people by purporting to be selling cheap jewellery

or bumping into people at cash points or hysterically asking

directions to hospital while stealing from them.

Officers in Oldham are keen to speak to anyone

From today, if you tune into BBC Radio Manchester, you may hear

a few unfamiliar voices, because listeners are

It's called Over to You and, throughout the week,

they will present, produce and report for the station.

One of Monday's breakfast presenters will be Jackie McNeish.

But maybe after, when I get in there on Monday, my tongue

will probably grow that big and I'll be gasping for breath.

I'm excited by it, I see it as a big opportunity.

I just want to get as much as I can from it.

Sport, and in the Premier League, Romelu Lukaku scored twice

as Everton beat Hull City 4-0 to move level on points

Meanwhile, Burnley are still waiting for a first away win

in the Premier League this season having been held to a goalless draw

by bottom-placed Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

And in Superleague, Saints have travelled to France

As of a few moments ago, Saints were leading Catalans 22-12.

Saints have won just one of their opening four

Tomorrow, Salford Red Devils host Castleford Tigers and Wigan take

Lets get a check on the weather with Lucy Martin.

Low pressure in charge of our weather this evening,

These weather fronts are making their way

across to the east, isobars squeezing, indicating

Tomorrow, we are looking at more outbreaks of rain,

courtesy of that weather front making its way east.

Putting detail on the map, outbreaks of rain, fairly cloudy,

some hill fog developing in a prone spots.

Overnight lows of 9 degrees, still fairly mild for the time of year.

Into tomorrow, a fairly cloudy start, outbreaks

In any bright intervals in the south, it could feel quite

decent, temperatures not too bad, a maximum of 13 Celsius with that

As we move into Monday, a band of rain introduces fresh air,

so moving into Tuesday, it will be cooler with

That's all for now, we'll be back with your tea-time

Hello, the mild areas going to be with us into next week. Things set

to be cooler with a return to overnight frost for some. This

evening and overnight will be mild across the board, a messy picture,

looks like Scotland Northern Ireland and northern England seeing the fair

share of the rain, some quite heavy at times. A blustery night. Look at

the temperatures, 9-11 C. Tomorrow, mild and windy very windy across

England and Wales and there will be rain in the