New analysis by the National Education Union of the Schools Block
funding allocations show the Government has not even matched
their previous woefully inadequate promises on school funding.
The Government has delayed and delayed the publication of these
figures. The reason now is clear.
and both promised that “every
school” would get a cash increase. (1) NEU analysis
of the new figures from the Government (published on 17 December)
shows that, shockingly, they have broken even that meagre promise
for 4,819 schools – that’s a quarter of primary schools
(25%) and one in six secondary schools (17%). (2)
These schools received no cash increase or suffered an actual cut
to their funding, despite school costs shooting up
dramatically. To protect school standards,
all schools should be fully protected against rising school
costs.
Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National
Education Union, said: “This is yet another failure and
another broken promise by Government on school funding. The fact
remains that schools were never going to manage on the money
promised by Government. However, head teachers, teachers, school
staff and parents will be dismayed that even the meagre amounts
of funds supposedly allocated to schools will not be received by
everyone. Parents and school staff simply cannot trust what the
Government says on education funding.
“Schools and sixth form colleges have been systematically
underfunded with £2bn a year taken away from them since 2015.
This is not pin money, it cannot be retrieved by just good
housekeeping. Up and down the country schools are increasing
class sizes, reducing teachers and school staff, cutting subjects
from the curriculum and leaving building repairs undone. Ask any
parent and they will tell you that begging letters for financial
support are now commonplace. The School Cuts campaign, alongside
parent groups and MPs, will continue in 2019 to argue the case
that our children’s education is vital. For it to be of the
quality and breadth that we expect, it needs funding to match
that expectation.”
ENDS
Editor’s Notes
(1) See:
Prime Minister at PMQs, 23 May 2018:
“On school funding, as the hon. Gentleman knows, the new
national funding formula is providing for a cash increase for
every school in every region, as well as protected funding for
those with additional needs, but it is important that the
Department for Education is helping to bear down on costs that
schools are experiencing.”
Source - https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2018-05-23/debates/FC0194CA-193D-4DED-8180-C1F05D070688/Engagements#contribution-56BA0880-9E9C-4F5F-AD6C-91082E725CAD (column
838)
, Secretary of State for
Education, Hansard, 29 January and 5 March 2018:
“….each school will see at least a small cash
increase….”
Source - https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-03-05/debates/C0AB4135-7432-4053-A670-66901BC92AB5/Education#2MC
, Hansard, 25 April 2018:
“We have gone further than our manifesto promise that no
school would lose funding as a
result of the national funding formula. The formula is in
fact giving every local authority more money for every pupil in
every school in 2018-19 and 2019-20. Every school is attracting
at least a cash increase of 0.5% per pupil through the formula
this year, and 1% more next year, compared with their
baselines”
Source: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2018-04-25/debates/0A24031C-1B47-47DA-9682-5ED62B7AB09C/SchoolFunding#contribution-D0D3FA7C-9026-449E-86B1-56D298EEFBE2
(column 896)
(2) We
compared the Schools Block funding allocations for 2017/18 and
2018/19.
In 4,821 schools the Schools Block Allocation (Post MFG)
plus the Teacher Pay Grant in 2018/19 is equal to or lower
than the Schools Block Allocation (Post MFG) in
2017/18. The Teacher Pay Grant was introduced in 2018/19.
Source:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-block-funding-allocations-2017-to-2018
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-block-funding-allocations-2018-to-2019
