At last, the Government appears to have realised that Oxfordshire schools are facing financial hardship.

The £2.2m grant announced yesterday -- the sixth highest in the country -- will go some way to ease the pressures that many are suffering.

But why has it taken ministers so long to act? And why do we have to wait until next year to benefit?

A survey last autumn showed that most county schools were grappling with deficits of more than £100,000 because of rising costs and inadequate funding.

We don't expect the Government's gesture to solve all the financial ills, but at least we have recognition from Whitehall, for the first time, that problems exist.

One decision which many schools will welcome is that they will now have budgets covering three years, instead of one. This should make forward planning simpler.