Fairer school funding demanded

Schools get widely differing funding allocations

Head teachers are pointing up the wide disparities in the funding of England's schools, which can mean pupils in one area being "worth" more than £1,500 less than in another.

Funding disparities remain a disgrace

NAHT

Even between similar types of council there are big gaps in the amount allocated to schools.

The government has promised a general "levelling up" when a new funding system is introduced in 2003.

But the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) says the new system will fail unless it creates "a much more level playing field".

Click here for funding highs and lows

An NAHT survey to which 143 of England's 148 mainstream local education authorities responded showed that 47 still spent less than their education "standard spending assessment" - the amount the government reckons they should be spending.

Variations

At primary school level, the lowest amounts per pupil in the 2001/2002 budget statements were:

• Derbyshire: £1,751.
• Staffordshire: £1,768.
• Nottinghamshire: £1,800.

Derbyshire and Staffordshire are part of a group of 40 LEAs - known as the F40 group - which is lobbying for a fairer funding deal.

So too are Gloucestershire and Buckinghamshire, which have among the lowest allocations per pupil at secondary level:

• Gloucestershire: £2,379.
• Buckinghamshire: £2,404.
• Wakefield: £2,425.

The standard spending assessment, decided by central government, relates primarily to the number of pupils in an education authority. It is boosted by two additional elements.

How it works

One is the "area cost adjustment", which essentially gives extra money to authorities in the south-east of England, where living costs are higher.

The other element is for "additional educational needs" - taking account of such things as relative social deprivation.

A local authority takes the all money it has been given and allocates it to schools on the basis of another formula, limited by various regulations.

Discrepancies

According to the NAHT's figures, the current disparities mean that in Redbridge an average size primary school, with 200 pupils, gets £172,000 less than one of the same size in Westminster.

A similar school in Swindon gets £88,000 less than one in Slough.

At secondary level, a school with a thousand pupils in Merton gets £903,000 less than one in Lambeth.

One in Gloucestershire gets £409,000 less than one in Dorset.

The NAHT's general secretary, David Hart, said: ""We know it will cost a lot of money to level up, but the government promised to do just this when it announced that a new funding system would operate.

Pupil numbers

"Teachers, parents and governors that are part of those schools "failed" by the present system, will be looking to the Chancellor to deliver when he announces the results of his comprehensive spending review in July 2002."

The Department for Education said in a statement: "Since 1997 funding per pupil has risen by £540 in real terms.

"The most important factor in deciding the amount of education SSA is the number of pupils. Big changes to the SSA are mainly caused by changes in pupil numbers.

"We want to make the funding system as fair as possible to help our drive to raise standards in schools."

---

The table below compares local education authority budget statements for 2001/2002. Source: NAHT survey.

PRIMARY
Highest
London Boroughs
Kensington & Chelsea	£3,019
Tower Hamlets	£2,922
Westminster	£2,847
Metropolitan Boroughs
Birmingham	£2,240
Manchester	£2,206
Liverpool	£2,195
County Councils
Norfolk	£2,064
Surrey	£2,061
Essex	£2,034
Unitary Authorities
Slough	£2,254
Hull	£2,196
Portsmouth	£2,176
Lowest
London Boroughs
Bexley	£1,971
Redbridge	£1,989
Bromley	£2,040
Metropolitan Boroughs
Bury	£1,822
St Helens	£1,863
Barnsley	£1,871
County Councils
Derbyshire	£1,751
Staffordshire	£1,768
Nottinghamshire	£1,800
Unitary Authorities
Warrington	£1,809
Stoke on Trent	£1,811
Swindon	£1,813
SECONDARY (INCLUDING SIXTH FORM)
Highest
London Boroughs
Kensington & Chelsea	£3,898
Lambeth	£3,615
Tower Hamlets	£3,554
Metropolitan Boroughs
Liverpool	£2,886
Birmingham	£2,793
Doncaster	£2,776
County Councils
Bedfordshire	£2,790
Dorset	£2,788
Kent	£2,778
Unitary Authorities
Hull	£3,117
Slough	£3,018
Southend on Sea	£2,893
Lowest
London Boroughs
Bexley	£2,675
Bromley	£2,699
Merton	£2,712
Metropolitan Boroughs
Wakefield	£2,425
Solihull	£2,446
Tameside	£2,467
County Councils
Gloucestershire	£2,379
Buckinghamshire	£2,404
Staffordshire	£2,471
Unitary Authorities
Stoke on Trent	£2,431
Blackpool	£2,438
Swindon	£2,507
Stockton on Tees	£2,507

Back to main text