MID-WORCESTERSHIRE MP Nigel Huddleston has met with the Education Minister in a bid to raise the issue of funding for county schools.
During the meeting with Nick Gibb MP, Mr Huddleston discussed how funding per pupil in Worcestershire schools was currently among the ten lowest in the country.
With the ten best funded areas receiving £6,200 on average per pupil per year, Worcestershire schools receive £4,200.
Schools around the country that are similar in terms of size and catchment area can get different budgets and children with similar needs can receive different levels of financial help depending on where they go to school.
It was a Conservative Party manifesto commitment to bring in a new funding formula for schools that will be consistently applied across England.
The new funding formula was meant to be implemented in 2017/18 but was delayed by a year by the new Education Secretary, Justine Greening MP, when she became Education Secretary in July in order to conduct a wider consultation.
Mr Huddleston said: “The national funding formula will mean that, for the first time, every pupil will attract funding at their school determined by their individual circumstances regardless of where they are in the country or historical spending decisions.
“The Minister confirmed that the new system will begin to apply from 2018/19 with a total education budget of a record £40 billion and that the changes would be phased in over a period of years.
“The Minister told me that further details on the proposals will be released very soon and I hope this will help local schools with their financial planning for the next few years.”
