The Government's funding allocation for Covid summer schools has been called "clearly flawed" by Moorlands MP Karen Bradley as Biddulph schools are set to be excluded from the plans.

Schools in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent have been allocated almost £4m to run a two-week programme of lessons over the summer to help students make up for learning they lost due to Coronavirus restrictions.

The summer schools are mainly aimed at students moving up from primary schools into Year 7 at secondary schools, with funding being allocated on the number of Year 7 students at each school.

However, Biddulph secondary schools, as well as schools in some other areas of Staffordshire such as Leek, don't have any Year 7 students as pupils instead start secondary school aged 13 after completing middle school - meaning these types of secondary schools wouldn't be able to access the funding.

Moorlands MP Karen Bradley has since said she will raise the issue with the Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, and is "assured that the flaw will be rectified."

She told Nub News: "The funding allocation is clearly flawed as it fails to recognise three tier education systems.

"I have raised this directly with the Secretary of State and am assured that the flaw will be rectified."

Biddulph middle schools may be able to access the funding due to having Year 7 pupils, although this remains unclear as Year 7 comes at the mid-way point in middle school, meaning students wouldn't be transferring from one school to another as intended by the funding.

Signing up to the scheme and running summer learning is up to each individual school, and the schools that choose to do so can run activities over one or two weeks in August.

Mr Williamson said he was "confident" that the scheme would be "a great success".

Don't forget to sign up to our newsletter below!

You can submit your own news and opinions straight to Biddulph Nub News by using the 'Nub It' button on our home page.

This can also be done for events on our What's On page and for businesses, groups and organisations on our Local Listings page, also by using the 'Nub It' button.

Please like and follow our online newspaper on your favourite social media channel. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter.