Funding settlement is bad news for lowest funded authorities and schools

Leading members of f40 – the group that campaigns for fairer funding of education – have expressed grave disappointment about the government’s recent funding settlement and the serious implications for schools, now that the implications are becoming clear.

At the Group’s quarterly Executive Committee meeting held in Stafford at the weekend, members from across England reported on the unfortunate outcomes stemming from the education funding settlement announced a few weeks ago.

F40 Vice Chair, Gillian Hayward, who chairs the Schools Forum in Gloucestershire, said that representatives at the meeting were extremely disappointed and disillusioned with the government.

She said: “f40 has made considerable contributions to government consultations on education funding but members are now feeling exasperated as there is little evidence that the call for fairer funding is being heard. The actions of the new government so far have not benefited the lowest funded authorities and schools, nor bridged the gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’.”

She added: “Despite statements to the contrary from Westminster, f40 believes that at school level there will be a real term funding reduction equivalent to around 5% in the next financial year starting April once all the relevant factors are taken into account. This is in addition to the damaging impact of the reductions that will be needed in many local authority services that are used by schools.

“The settlement for 2011-12 has had the effect of revealing the differential in funding between areas. For example, the funding gap between Leicester City and the county of Leicestershire (the worst funded authority in the country) was thought to be £610 per pupil but is now shown to be £858 per pupil, an increase of 40% in the gap between these authorities – a situation that cannot be justified by the differing needs of pupils in the two neighbouring areas.”

Serious concern was also raised about the flat rate pupil premium, initially set at £430, and to be introduced from 1 April. F40 members concluded that the premium “flies in the face” of earlier government indications that they would ensure the premium would ensure lower funded authorities would initially received larger levels of premium.

Gillian Hayward said: “In the government consultation about the launch of a pupil premium, there was 61% support for the idea of lower funded authorities receiving a higher level of pupil premium.  The flat rate premium cuts across this and is seen as unhelpful and unfair.”

F40 members also reported that schools currently converting to academies are receiving an additional grant to compensate for the absence of local authority support considerably higher than the level of funding being recouped from the local authority to fund that grant. In addition, expenses such as insurance cover are being reimbursed by the government.

“It would appear that the money going to the academies to represent local authority support is made up of the recouped money plus a top up” said Mrs Hayward.

“F40 members are very interested in knowing the origin of the top up funding. If it is being top sliced from the money which should be available for all schools, they think that would be totally unfair and unacceptable.

“Such practice would also be at odds with government indications that there should be no financial incentive or disincentive to a school becoming an academy. Executive members of f40 believe that there is now a significant financial advantage to academy conversion and that this is unfair to the entire education sector and in particular to low funded local authorities and the schools in them.”

Looking to the future, f40 notes that the recent White Paper on education funding acknowledged that there is clear unfairness in the current funding system and the members has given a cautious welcome to the plan to investigate a National Funding Formula.

Gillian Hayward said: “There is general support to the concept but it is important that this idea receives careful modelling and consultation to ensure it results in a more equitable funding system. We acknowledge that in any system there will be winners and losers but the emphasis must be on equity and fairness. There will clearly be a need for sensible transition arrangements to prevent, or minimise, additional turbulence of the type being experienced as a result of this year’s settlement and associated government initiatives.”

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