As the Government’s White Paper on schools is released, Schools Minister Robin Walker writes in today’s Northern Echo and pledges the North East does not fall behind.

Being a father, I know that what parents want is the very best education and opportunities for their child.

Today, I can tell you with pride that this government is going further than ever before. We are making a pledge to all children and parents across our country.

Read more: Pupils falling behind will be supported by Government funding

We will make sure that every school in the North East does what the best schools already do – intervene to support any child who falls behind in English or maths, helping them make better and faster progress. And if that additional support is needed, the school will speak to you, their parent, about how you can help at home.

In school, that could mean high quality tutoring – previously only available to a fortunate few but now freely accessible to those who need it most – or speech and language therapy for the youngest children whose development is so vital. The point is that the support which is right for that child must be available when they need it – and it will be.

This is just one of the new plans the government is putting forward today in our Schools White Paper – our strategy to put the right support in the right place, and at the right time for every child.

Literacy and numeracy skills are vital for children’s education and future job opportunities.

We are clear about the targets we want to hit. By 2030, an average of 90% of children across England should be achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of primary school – up from 65% in 2019. And we want more young people achieving good GCSE results too, so our ambition is for the average GCSE grade in English language and maths for children across England to be a 5, up from 4.5 in 2019.

The benefits of this will be felt far and wide, and for years to come. Our primary level target, if achieved, is estimated to be worth £30-£60bn for the economy on the basis of a single school year in.

Our extensive White Paper will also show how we are knuckling down into the detail.

We know that certain areas of the country will need more support to meet these targets than others. That is why today we are announcing more information on the support we’ll offer our 55 Education Investment Areas (EIAs), the places in the country which have some of the lowest attainment and highest rates of disadvantage. From these areas, we are selecting 24 Priority Education Investment areas, including Middlesbrough and Hartlepool for even greater support.

With the help of excellent teachers, intensive investment, local collaboration and dedicated, tailored support, we will work specifically in these areas to make education the best it can be.

Around £40m of additional funding will support this work across all Priority EIAs, which we will use to address specific, local issues in order to tackle the most entrenched barriers to school improvement and higher pupil attainment, ensuring that no child or young person is left behind.

Our strategy includes prioritising bids for new academically-excellent sixth form free schools in these areas, where there is need, on top of £86m in funding over three years to help the best academy trusts support local schools.

This is in addition to the substantial support offered to all Education Investment Areas, including retention payments for teachers in high priority subjects.

We are also making sure that all schools across the North East have the funding they need to deliver the high standards we want to achieve.

Per pupil funding is also expected to increase by around 6.0%, bringing total core mainstream revenue school funding to around £1.9bn for the North East in 2022-23, including the additional supplementary grant for schools that was secured in the Spending Review last autumn.

Per pupil funding is also expected to increase by around 6.1%, bringing total core mainstream revenue school funding to around £101.9m in Blackpool in 2022-23, including the additional supplementary grant for schools that was secured in the Spending Review last autumn.

The full range of plans that we have set out today – from helping our children read and do their sums to the best of their ability, to understanding and improving education in areas most in need of support, and beyond – have been crafted to level up education in England.

From north to south, east to west, we are working harder and better than ever to help all children and young people fulfil their potential.

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated County Durham Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054