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The DfES launched the consultation in March 2007 and it ended in June 2007.
We campaigned vigorously to influence the Comprehensive Spending Assessment for 2007 and the new education funding arrangements for 2008-11.
In this funding consultation f40's aim was simply to achieve fairer funding for all children. This means that wherever they live, all children with the same needs should have the same access to:
- teacher and teacher assistant time and attention
- the national curriculum and a wide range of other activities
- up to date resources and equipment
- extra help for special needs to ensure inclusion and personalised learning
- well-managed and serviced schools.
We are grateful for the additional funding that has gone into education over the last
ten years and acknowledge that much improvement has taken place. However, in
spite of a simpler and more transparent formula, we still feel the current system is
unfair and penalises children in the poorest funded authorities and schools. This has
been fossilized by several years of spend plus. We feel the most pragmatic solution
is a basic entitlement that is sufficient to raise standards, before other factors are
taken into consideration.
We believe the main problems in the current funding arrangements are:
- the size of the funding gap between higher and lower funded authorities and the
funding difficulties experienced at the bottom of the league - the method of allocating deprivation funding that so strongly favours big cities
- the impact of pupils moving across authority boundaries
- the fact that capital allocations follow the same pattern as revenue – ‘a double
whammy’ - the lack of joined up funding to support an increasingly joined up agenda.
We are appreciative of the efforts made by Ministers and the Department for Education and Skills in recent months to listen to our case and give us the opportunity to express our views.
To view f40's final submission dated 1st May 2007 click here.
To view f40's news release dated 25th May 2007 click here.
