Nottingham may lose out by up to £798 per pupil in funding changes

CREDIT: This story was first seen on Notts TV
City schools will lose around £650 per pupil on average, with Huntingdon Academy, in St Ann’s, potentially losing as much as £798 per pupil, the National Union of Teachers says.
Notts TV reports that the union says schools will lose £3bn a year by 2020 under current government plans to change how money is spent through the National Schools Funding Formula.
The figures, also highlighted by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, state that 98% of schools across the country will be affected by cuts in some form.
Councillor Sam Webster, portfolio holder for education, employment and skills at Nottingham City Council, said: “The conservative government’s new methods of funding directly target schools in Nottingham for potentially the biggest real terms reduction in budgets they have ever faced.
“While our schools in Nottingham are set to lose tens of millions of pounds in the coming years, in keeping with a current Tory theme, schools in some of the wealthiest areas of England are set for gains.
“Many teachers, parents and school governors have already contacted me expressing dismay and concern at this attack on our local schools.
“It’s important that we all recognise the vital role that schools play in our communities. The vast majority of schools in Nottingham provide much more than a Monday – Friday, nine o’clock – 3.30 education service.”
He added that holiday clubs, breakfast clubs, trips and extra-curricular groups may be most at risk.
However, the Department for Education says Nottingham is actually set to gain 0.3% and Nottinghamshire will gain 1.8% under the National Schools Funding Formula.
This formula allocates funding based on each pupil rather than the school as a whole, meaning that the loss would be the same per pupil across the board.
Because school numbers in schools are rising and per pupil funding is protected at current rates, the government says there will be more money in schools.
A DfE spokesperson said: “These figures are fundamentally misleading, school funding is at its highest level on record and will be over £40bn in 2016-17.
“We have set out proposals to end the historic postcode lottery in school funding.
“Under the proposed national schools funding formula, more than half of England’s schools will receive a cash boost in 2018-19.
“This will help to create a system that funds schools according to the needs of their pupils rather than where they live – disparities in the current school funding system mean a school could get 50% more if it were situated in another part of the country.
“However, we recognise that schools are facing cost pressures, which is why we will continue to provide advice and support to help them use their funding in cost effective ways, including improving the way they buy goods and services, so‎ they get the best possible value for their pupils.”
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