Rural pupils 'miss out on funds'

By Katherine Sellgren
BBC News education reporter at the ASCL conference

Dr Dunford says money must be distributed more fairly

Pupils living in rural areas are missing out because government cash has been targeted at inner city schools, head teachers warn.

The Association of School and College Leaders praised schemes to raise attainment in urban schools, but said rural schools were being overlooked.

The ASCL called for a focus on the 300 secondary schools that most needed the best leaders and teachers.

And funds must be focused "without waste" on the weakest pupils, it said.

Addressing delegates at the close of the ASCL annual conference in Birmingham, general secretary John Dunford said: "Resources must be targeted accurately.

There are pupils losing out and this is particularly the case for disadvantaged pupils in rural areas Dr John Dunford, ASCL

"Not the inchoate mixture of government initiatives that have sprayed funds around in recent years, like Dick Cheney on a quail shoot, but targeted on students with the lowest prior attainment, wherever they are at school."

Dr Dunford said the government must examine the £702m it currently spends on schemes such as Excellence in Cities and the Leadership Incentive Grant and reallocate it to reflect low attainment in urban and rural areas.

"This government has put a large amount of additional funding into deprived areas and I give them credit for that because no government has previously done that," he said.

"But in the way the grants are distributed, there are inbuilt inefficiencies because they are targeted in big areas, such as Manchester and Birmingham, and not on the individual schools and individual pupils where the need is greatest.

"There are pupils losing out and this is particularly the case for disadvantaged pupils in rural areas."

'Cities get the cash'

The problems outlined by Dr Dunford are faced by Monks Dyke Technology College in Louth, Lincolnshire.

Set in a market town, with a catchment area which spans 20 miles of rural communities, Monks Dyke is not eligible for funding from schemes such as Excellence in Cities and Education Action Zones.

"Most of the funding goes to inner cities," said head teacher Chris Rolph.

"Because we're rural, because we don't have inner city problems, we're not eligible, but we do have deprivation."

At Mr Rolph's school, 9% of the 1,200 pupils are eligible for free school meals.

While there is relatively low unemployment among parents, many are in low-paid jobs such as farm work.

There is no local university and many of the parents have low aspirations.

But, despite having raised pupils' achievement, Mr Rolph says his staff become demoralised when they see money being given to schools where the results are poor.

"The system rewards only very precise aspects and doesn't recognise the work being done more broadly," he said.

''Punitive' inspections

In his speech to delegates, Dr Dunford also criticised the powers given by the government to the education watchdog, Ofsted.

He said that ever since Ofsted was formed in 1992, ministers had used it as "a stick to beat schools with" and that it remained a "punitive system of inspection".

He expressed concern that head teachers were only being given a year to turn around failing schools, before being dismissed from their post.

"Fewer people are applying for secondary headships than ever... head teachers have become an endangered species," he said.

Dr Dunford also highlighted the dangers of over-testing pupils and reiterated the ASCL's commitment to allowing senior teachers to mark tests internally to external standards.

"We are testing to destruction," he warned.