TILSTON Primary School have a new teaching assistant for the next two terms thanks to funding from the parish council.

At the September meeting of Tilston Parish Council it was agreed to provide a £2,000 grant to the school to help fund an additional teaching assistant for the nursery and reception class.

The "2,000 will be matched by Cheshire West & Chester Councillor Paul Roberts who will also provide £2,000 from his members’ budget.

The size of the nursery class has been impacted by the recent closure of Tilston Play School and it was reported at the meeting that the school had received a £45,000 reduction in its budget for the coming school year.

The number of children at the school is currently at its highest, at 121 pupils and the majority of pupils who attend the nursery and reception classes go on to stay at Tilston Primary School until the end of year six.

The parish council say providing this additional funding will allow numbers to increase in these classes which contribute to the future sustainability of this popular small rural school.

Headteacher at Tilston Primary School, Kelsey Mort says that as schools are facing budget cuts, but she want to do something about it rather than complain.

"A lot of schools are in the position where budget cuts have made impacts," said Ms Mort. "We're at the point where we're on the least possible staff to still be effective.

"We went to the parish council and asked for support for our nursery as this is the first time since I've been here that we've been full to capacity.

"Between the parish council and Councillor Paul Roberts they've funded a teaching assistant for two terms.

"Thanks to the local community, they've listened to the problems facing us and they were very eager to provide a service.

"A lot of schools complain about budget cuts, but they're affecting everyone.

"We've gone out there and asked for help and we're truly grateful for the support."