Commenting as the Local Government Association (LGA), today
(Friday 21 May) publishes a new survey showing how much money for
disadvantaged pupils could be lost from school budgets this year
due to a government change in how Pupil Premium funding is
calculated, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’
union NAHT, said:
“The government has made bold claims about their ambitions for
recovery and said that no child will be left behind. But by
implementing this pupil premium change in the middle of the
pandemic the government has actively removed support for children
who are most in need of help. The government is failing to back
their words with action and is leaving schools without the
funding and resources they need for the job ahead.
“A significant number of children have become eligible for help
via pupil premium but they will now not receive any additional
funding for another whole year. A recent NAHT survey showed that
the amount of money lost is more than schools are being given for
education recovery. The government is giving with one hand while
knowingly taking away with the other. This must be put right.
Government must come clean about how much they have saved with
this change, and they must put that money back into school
budgets immediately.
“The government can no longer ignore the concrete evidence that
is coming through from councils, nor can they try to explain it
away as a ‘technicality’. This is real money, affecting real
children’s lives.”
