:00:00. > :00:00.Hello and welcome to the Look East late news.
:00:00. > :00:00.Later than usual following today's terror attack.
:00:07. > :00:18.teachers tell ministers their sums don't add
:00:19. > :00:21.Royalty at the home of racing as Camilla comes
:00:22. > :00:23.And rain lingering this evening and overnight.
:00:24. > :00:32.Good evening, I'm Tom Williams.
:00:33. > :00:35.Head teachers in this region have expressed their
:00:36. > :00:38."grave concerns" over Government plans for school funding.
:00:39. > :00:40.At the moment, the Government
:00:41. > :00:41.distributes the money through County Councils
:00:42. > :00:48.That money is then given to schools using a funding formula.
:00:49. > :00:56.It's based on the number of pupils, their age,
:00:57. > :00:57.and things like special educational needs.
:00:58. > :00:59.But now, the Government wants to introduce
:01:00. > :01:02.Every pupil would get a basic amount, rising each year.
:01:03. > :01:05.The Department for Education says there will be winners and losers,
:01:06. > :01:08.but the proposals are proving controversial.
:01:09. > :01:12.Who was the most powerful orator? Is it Brutus, or is it Mark Anthony?
:01:13. > :01:16.While year seven pupils at Taverham High in Norfolk
:01:17. > :01:21.it's a real-life drama, grappling with their school budgets.
:01:22. > :01:24.The bills they have to pay are going up faster
:01:25. > :01:29.than funding, and that means real terms cuts of 8% per pupil
:01:30. > :01:37.The Government says a new funding formula for schools mean many
:01:38. > :01:47.The executive head of the school in knowledge is unconvinced.
:01:48. > :01:50.Grant cuts, staffing costs and inflation means
:01:51. > :01:53.he will have to slash ?500,000 from his ?7 million budget by 2020.
:01:54. > :01:55.I'm going to try and make every single saving I can.
:01:56. > :01:58.Ultimately, we are here to provide the very best for children.
:01:59. > :02:00.However, the pressures are going to make that really
:02:01. > :02:03.Today, heads from across the region sent an open
:02:04. > :02:21.This is really an issue about per student funding.
:02:22. > :02:25.There is not enough to be able to run the courses now,
:02:26. > :02:28.and that is going to be made worse by a national funding formula,
:02:29. > :02:30.unless more money is put in to make it happen properly.
:02:31. > :02:33.But there is an apparent contradiction.
:02:34. > :02:35.On the one hand, you have teachers across the region saying
:02:36. > :02:39.they are facing a real terms funding cut, but on the other hand
:02:40. > :02:49.you have a Government which says that spening on schools
:02:50. > :02:54.We are spending more money on National Insurance Contributions,
:02:55. > :02:57.more on pensions, we have got to pay an apprenticeship level.
:02:58. > :03:00.They are not going into additional resources for children.
:03:01. > :03:03.While some schools will see a budget rise, this one
:03:04. > :03:05.in Essex will lose out. It could lose up to 20 teachers.
:03:06. > :03:10.And the head says he will quit before he forces them to.
:03:11. > :03:13.I will either have to leave because they have asked me to do
:03:14. > :03:17.something I am not willing to do, or they will have to get rid of me.
:03:18. > :03:20.Public consultation over the new funding
:03:21. > :03:25.Few issues are as political as this one.
:03:26. > :03:26.And, say teachers, the futures of millions
:03:27. > :03:34.You briefly saw Brian Conway in that report.
:03:35. > :03:37.He's the Executive Head teacher of Notre Dame High School in Norwich.
:03:38. > :03:42.I asked him for his reaction to the Government's
:03:43. > :03:57.It was necessary to have a fair funding conservation
:03:58. > :04:02.because there has been any qualities in school funding across the country
:04:03. > :04:06.The problem is that the results of the consultation don't look good
:04:07. > :04:07.in the wider picture of school funding.
:04:08. > :04:10.The are saying that, by 2019, 2020, there will be an 8%
:04:11. > :04:12.reduction in the funding that is available to schools.
:04:13. > :04:15.So you have this national funding formula which is trying to do some
:04:16. > :04:18.good, but it is on top of lots of other challenges
:04:19. > :04:24.Because the Government are saying they are putting more money
:04:25. > :04:26.in while you're saying, actually, you are going
:04:27. > :04:30.It is because the funding pressures come from different sources.
:04:31. > :04:32.There is increased costs that schools have to pay for teachers due
:04:33. > :04:34.to National Insurance contributions and pension contributions,
:04:35. > :04:37.at the same time there is lots of grants that have been
:04:38. > :04:42.The Department for Education said schools bending
:04:43. > :04:44.The Department for Education said schools spending
:04:45. > :04:48.But the system for distributing that money was unfair and outdated.
:04:49. > :04:50.So something needs to be done, doesn't it?
:04:51. > :04:52.It is true that the money has gone up.
:04:53. > :04:54.But also the pupils have gone up as well.
:04:55. > :04:57.If you look at your basic maths, yes, there is more money,
:04:58. > :05:02.So what you have got is the amount of money per pupil is being reduced.
:05:03. > :05:04.Can you quantify how children's education could suffer?
:05:05. > :05:08.I think that my school is probably going to have to make savings
:05:09. > :05:11.And a further ?200,000 the year after that.
:05:12. > :05:17.But that could mean cuts in subjects, it could mean
:05:18. > :05:19.that there is cuts in IT, for example.
:05:20. > :05:21.Maybe looking at some buildings that I will try and not
:05:22. > :05:25.And I am trying to protect teaching in front of the children.
:05:26. > :05:27.That is going to be really, really tough.
:05:28. > :05:31.So you can't guarantee that children's education won't suffer?
:05:32. > :05:44.I would love to be able to give that county,
:05:45. > :05:48.but in terms of looking at the funding and thinking,
:05:49. > :05:52.I think there is going to be really tough decisions going forward.
:05:53. > :05:54.More now on the tragic events at Westminster this afternoon,
:05:55. > :05:57.in which four people were killed and at least 20 injured
:05:58. > :06:00.The region's police forces are on high alert, with some
:06:01. > :06:06.Katherine Nash has the details. She joins me now.
:06:07. > :06:15.Essex Police have released a statement, starting by passing
:06:16. > :06:18.thoughts and prayers to the entire force as well as those injured and
:06:19. > :06:24.killed in the terrorist attack at Westminster, one of those who was a
:06:25. > :06:30.serving officer. Until further notice, there will be an increased
:06:31. > :06:37.police presence in Essex. This includes a armed officer. What about
:06:38. > :06:43.security at our airports? Stanstead airport say they have increased
:06:44. > :06:47.patrols inside and outside. It is operating on a heightened level of
:06:48. > :06:52.security. That is not just because of today's attack, that is something
:06:53. > :06:58.it does as a regular event anyway. Police are saying not to be alarmed,
:06:59. > :07:02.and Julie contacting them if they have any concerns about suspicious
:07:03. > :07:07.activity. 999 or 101. Winter night provision for rough
:07:08. > :07:10.sleepers in Southend ends this week. During the winter months,
:07:11. > :07:12.20 extra emergency beds are provided Southend Council say the extra beds
:07:13. > :07:17.have been used by more than 140 but many return to
:07:18. > :07:19.sleeping on the streets. I would say about 25 of them
:07:20. > :07:23.will go back on the street. And as I say, the people
:07:24. > :07:26.in the winter night shelters feel They are trying to get them to be
:07:27. > :07:31.integrated into society, but there are a group of them that
:07:32. > :07:34.really don't want to be part of society at the moment.
:07:35. > :07:36.They want to sleep rough. It is their life
:07:37. > :07:44.choice, if you like. The Duchess of Cornwall
:07:45. > :07:47.has unveiled a statue of The statue marks the home
:07:48. > :07:50.of racing's 350th anniversary. The monarch, who was
:07:51. > :07:53.known as Old Rowley, was largely responsible
:07:54. > :07:55.for establishing racing in the town. The Duchess began the day meeting
:07:56. > :07:57.local school children, With a gentle stroke,
:07:58. > :08:00.the Duchess meets a chameleon at Newmarket Academy's
:08:01. > :08:04.animal welfare centre. Reading is important
:08:05. > :08:06.because you wouldn't be able Earlier, she heard pupils taking
:08:07. > :08:12.part in a literacy activity. Meeting the Duchess was really cool
:08:13. > :08:15.because I've never met In the Forge, she learnt
:08:16. > :08:21.about the school's close links And there was time
:08:22. > :08:28.for some cookery, too. She was friendly, she was keen
:08:29. > :08:36.to talk to the students, And to me, actually,
:08:37. > :08:41.because I was a bit nervous as well. Then, in torrential rain,
:08:42. > :08:46.it was onto the Rowley Mile. Where the Duchess unveiled
:08:47. > :08:49.a statue of King Charles II. Commissioned to mark the home
:08:50. > :08:54.of horse racing's 350th anniversary. Racing as we know it
:08:55. > :08:57.wouldn't have started - And of course the amazing thing
:08:58. > :09:01.is that the town plate where we were celebrating 350 years
:09:02. > :09:04.of last year, he actually won one of the first few
:09:05. > :09:06.runnings of that race. It is amazing to think of a monarch
:09:07. > :09:09.actually riding his own horse In the warm, out of the rain,
:09:10. > :09:14.there was time to meet the great She asked if I had some nice
:09:15. > :09:18.horses for the Queen. I feel, in March,
:09:19. > :09:22.you should say yes! And as a parting gift,
:09:23. > :09:29.we gave her a copy of the 350th commemorative edition of Newmarket
:09:30. > :09:34.Monopoly. It was an exciting day
:09:35. > :09:37.for Newmarket, a town that owes much That's how the region's
:09:38. > :09:58.looking tonight. The Norwich striker Steven Naismith
:09:59. > :10:03.scored in the 1-1 draw with Canada for Scotland.
:10:04. > :10:10.Quite cloudy across the region. Still outbreaks of rain possible.
:10:11. > :10:15.Gradually clearing to the West. The rest of the night largely dry with
:10:16. > :10:20.clear spells. Chilly in places down to around four or five Celsius with
:10:21. > :10:27.a light to moderate north-easterly wind. That will be a feature through
:10:28. > :10:34.tomorrow. The weather system that brought the rain is being pushed
:10:35. > :10:38.away. We start the day tomorrow with some cloud around, but also that
:10:39. > :10:51.cards that intervene and rape. Good spells of spring sunshine through
:10:52. > :10:55.the day. But all is -- the clouds will start to clear and break. The
:10:56. > :10:59.national weather is coming up. decent day. Saturday could be a much
:11:00. > :11:11.better day, with some sunshine. It certainly was a pretty wet day
:11:12. > :11:18.across parts of the country, lots of downpours around. This is a picture
:11:19. > :11:21.from Kent, not particularly nice. We still have some rain on the way for
:11:22. > :11:25.tonight. Tomorrow morning, some of that when we'll be lingering, but
:11:26. > :11:32.there is sunshine on the way later tomorrow. This is the rain bearing
:11:33. > :11:36.cloud for today. You can see the front sweeping northwards across the
:11:37. > :11:39.country. Still some heavy rain around the northern areas. To the
:11:40. > :11:47.south of the rain band, it is relatively mild compared to
:11:48. > :11:53.Scotland, where it could be as low as minus eight Celsius, but that is
:11:54. > :11:58.the exception. Early on Thursday morning, there will be rain around,
:11:59. > :12:03.but any of that cloud and rain will quickly be pushed to the south and
:12:04. > :12:07.west of the UK. Here, spots of rain are likely through the morning and
:12:08. > :12:08.afternoon. But by the