CAMPAIGNER Helen Donovan's petition for fairer funding in Worcestershire's schools has gathered more than 5,000 signatures. The mum-of-two is also spearheading plans to lead 500 parents to Westminster to lobby the Government next week. Today, she answers MP Mike Foster's claim that the Government has "invested heavily" in Worcestershire's schools.

LIKE the county's two parent-governor representatives, I have no political loyalties and am only concerned with addressing the discrimination which exists in our children's education.

We don't want to battle Mike Foster over funding - as we must campaign together to achieve the equality our children deserve - but it's important to reply to his recent comments.

He quoted a £10m increase in funding in Worcestershire's schools. He also revealed a "core budget" increase of 56 per cent, or £737 per pupil, at Nunnery Wood High School, and an increase of 87 per cent, or £875, at Cranham Primary School.

But the figures are grossly misleading as the increases are largely due to the rise in pupil numbers - an additional 141 at Nunnery Wood and extra 44 at Cranham Primary since 1997.

As such, the amount of money they each receive is grossly inflated, and not a fair reflection of our current position.

Irrespective of the rises our schools have had, there was no mention from Mr Foster that, nationally, we're "bottom of the heap". We've received consistently less than comparable counties. The cash gap between us and the English average has trebled to £390 per child per year less than the average in the past six years.

Though Mr Foster says the Government's putting more money into Worcestershire's schools, he's failing to say that we're slipping further and further behind.

We receive £320 per pupil per year less than the leading comparable, East Sussex, which places us 33rd out of 34 such counties with regards to £s per child per year.

Only Leicestershire is worse off. Birmingham receives £720 per pupil per year more than children in Worcestershire do.

Schools bordering the two areas, on the Worcestershire side, lose out by hundreds of thousands of pounds, yet a large percentage of their students live in Birmingham.

We also don't receive the Area Cost Adjustment given to those counties deemed to have higher living costs, including our immediate neighbours Warwickshire, Gloucestershire and Birmingham. The extra given to those counties who receive ACA is going straight into the schools, and it's totally unjustifiable to withhold the same funds from Worcestershire.

Worcestershire's had a funding increase of 39 per cent since 1997 - below the 47 per cent national average - while its schools have still had to sustain the same rising costs such as National Insurance increases and teacher pension contributions.

All these figures are available on the Government's own DfES website - at www.dfes.gov.uk/pns/pnattach/20030079/4.htm - and I urge parents to take a look for themselves.

There's a national teachers' pay scale, a national curriculum and national testing but not, it seems, national funding.

Teachers, books, computers, and pens cost the same anywhere in the country, regardless of where a child goes to school, so why isn't the funding reflecting as much?

At St Mary's RC Primary, Evesham - where my children, Rachel, aged eight, and Sarah, five, are at school - there are vertically age-grouped classes, two year-groups have to share one teacher.

There are also no paid classroom assistants in any of our Key Stage 2 classes, after a teacher left at the end of last year and couldn't be replaced due to lack of cash.

The computers were paid for with £3,000 of hard-earned cash from the parents, and I've helped out, along with two other parents, as the school can't afford extra staff.

Now the headteacher has said they need new desks and, while parents don't begrudge a single penny, you don't expect your children's education to be short of basics.

The school's excellent and doing a very good job in spite, rather than because of the resources it has. It's a constant battle.

I don't think that one teacher per class and enough basic learning equipment for the children is too much to ask for from the Government.

At the moment, the system in our county is being propped up by parents, who'd rather give money themselves than see their children go without.

There's a parents' lobby of Parliament on Wednesday, October 22, to coincide with Prime Minister's Question Time between midday and 2pm.

The coach leaves County Hall, in Spetchley Road, Worcester, at 7.45am and will return around 5.30pm.

It will cost £9 per person, payable on the day by either cash or cheque (cheques made payable to Jonathan Pearsall).

Those people wishing to travel with us should contact either Jon Pearsall, on 07747 775 434, Juliet Brunner, on 07986 039 564, or me on 07759 952 778.

I'd like to urge as many parents to come with us as possible. It's vital we take this excellent opportunity to make our voices heard.