Fairer funding needed for schools, says Nicky Morgan
Education secretary Nicky Morgan has this week outlined plans for reforms designed to end unfairness in the school funding system.
Morgan claims that the existing system for distributing funding is outdated, inefficient and unfair, and a new formula is due to be introduced from 2017 to 2018.
Presently, for example, a school in one part of the country might receive 50% more funding than an identical school in a different part of the country, 鈥渂ecause of an accident of history鈥, the government has stated. Next year, the core schools budget will sit at 拢40 billion, including the pupil premium - funding worth 拢2.5 billion per year for disadvantaged pupils - and Nicky Morgan says the government wants to ensure this is distributed fairly.
鈥淲e want every school in England to get the funding it deserves, so that all children - whatever their background and wherever they live in the country - get a great education,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he introduction of a national funding formula from 2017 to 2018 will see the biggest step towards fair funding in over a decade - ensuring that pupils get funding that genuinely matches their need. It will also ensure that pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds continue to receive significant additional funding to overcome entrenched barriers to their success.鈥
There will also be a parallel consultation on a national funding formula for early years funding later this yet but a date is yet to be confirmed.