School Funding

 

17th February 2017

 

Dear Parents and Carers,

 

We are writing this letter on behalf of all Primary and Secondary Headteachers in Stockport and a similar letter is going home to parents/carers across Stockport. You may be aware from the local or national press that the government is planning to introduce a new National Funding Formula for all schools in England, from April 2018 onwards. Our Local Authority, Stockport, is currently one of the worst funded in the country and has been for a considerable number of years. This means that on average your child is currently funded at approximately £1000 below that of neighbouring authorities like Manchester, which may not sound a great amount of money but this actually equates to around  £210 000  per year for a small primary school like Lane End.

 

We believe that this is an unfair system, based on a postcode lottery, and it is clear that children in areas like ours are being disadvantaged. We were delighted, therefore, when an announcement from government promised to introduce a fairer system, but unfortunately the new proposals do not diminish the disadvantage between authorities enough and we are still seeing a significant difference in allocation for our children compared to others across the country. In fact, for schools like Lane End the proposed new formula actually results in the school getting even less funding per year than currently. In our view, the National Funding Formula needs to be amended so that all schools can educate their children effectively, regardless of where in the country this is. This is not the case with the current proposals.

 

Schools in Stockport are planning a range of responses to raise awareness of the unfairness of these proposals and we really need your support as parents. You can help us by contacting your MP, Mrs Mary Robinson.  We have attached a useful proforma as a basis for your letter/email should you wish to use or amend it.

 

We know how important your child’s education is to you and also feel that a strong response is necessary. May we thank you in advance for your support in this matter.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

James Twigg

Headteacher of Lane End Primary School

and Vice-chair of Stockport Primary Headteachers’ Consortium

 

Jacqui Ames                                                                       Tim Beesley

Chair of Stockport Primary                                           Chair of Stockport Secondary

Headteachers’ Consortium                                          Headteachers’ Consortium

 

 

 Writing to Mary Robinson MP

 

Contact details:

Mary Robinson MP
8A Station Road
Cheadle Hulme
SK8 5AE

mary.robinson.mp@parliament.uk

0161 672 6855

https://www.mary-robinson.org.uk/

 

Below is a possible letter to amend followed by useful tips about writing a letter to an MP and specific questions to ask. If you can make your letter individual it will have more of an impact.

Thank you for your support.

 

 

 Dear Mary Robinson MP,

 

Government Proposal of National Fairer Funding Formula

 

I am writing to you to highlight the serious concerns I have about the proposed school funding for my child in Stockport.

 

As a parent, I welcome the idea of a national fairer funding formula as at the moment schools are funded very differently based on a postcode lottery, with Stockport being one of the worst funded local authorities. However the current proposals are not fair - it appears that there simply isn’t enough money to go round and the proposed fairer funding formula still does not distribute the money fairly. In fact, under the proposed new formula underfunded schools such as Lane End Primary School in Cheadle Hulme, one of the lowest funded schools in Stockport, are set to be even worse off. I am concerned that this means my child will not have the educational experience that they deserve.

 

I don’t believe that this situation will only affect my child’s school as it seems that many schools across the country are saying the same things.

 

I would like to ask you, as a matter of urgency, to write to the Chancellor, Philip Hammond to call on him to provide more money for our schools in the Budget in March. It must also be understood that whilst the national funding formula has the potential to make school funding fairer it will fall short unless it is re-evaluated and given sufficient resources to succeed.

 

I note on your website that one of the main strands of your plan for Cheadle is ‘championing investment in our schools’. I hope you can put pressure on the government to make sure schools in your constituency can continue to deliver for all pupils.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

National Funding Formula (NFF) Consultation

 

Letter to MPs and Questions for Ministers

 

Advice to Parents/Carers of children in Stockport schools based on a discussion with David Rutley MP:

 

It is better if any such correspondence does not look too much like a template letter and is more personal and asks the specific questions that you wish to be addressed. 

Suggested questions and structure of correspondence is given below.

 

 

Possible Structure

  • Thank your MP for their continued support in regard to the raising of your concerns about the NFF consultation and School Funding overall with ministers
  • Request that they continue to highlight within Parliament, at every opportunity, your concerns in regard to the unfairness of the current funding system and the unfairness of the proposed funding system.
  • Suggest that you would be interested to hear more about how they are representing your concerns to Ministers, the DfE and the Treasury.
  • Outline your hope for a better funding settlement in the Chancellor’s Budget Statement on 8th March 2017 and ask your MP directly if they have made any representation to the Treasury specifically in regard to education funding that may be a part of the Budget Statement.
  • Ask your MP to pass on your questions to the relevant ministers for their comment and feedback

  

Possible Specific Questions

Directed towards The Treasury:

  • With “more money going into education than ever before” what modelling of sufficiency has been undertaken? In other words, how do you know there is enough money in the system to allow schools to offer a satisfactory level of education to meet the needs of our children? 
  • In light of the National Audit Office’s report which highlights schools need to find £1.7BN worth of staffing savings what modelling has been undertaken that shows the education sector can survive on such skeleton staffing quotas?
  • What is the real term funding position of schools in light of inflationary pressures, increases in national insurance payments, increases in employers’ pension contributions and non-funded pay rises?
  • In light of the National Audit Office’s report which highlights schools need to find £1.3BN worth of efficiency savings what central government procurement is being established to support them to do this?
  • What proportion of education funding is returned back to the Treasury through increased National Insurance Contributions? How does this compare year on year over the life time of this Parliament?
  • What proportion of education funding will be returned back to the Treasury through the Apprenticeship Levy and what provisions have been established to ensure that this does not have an impact on front line services?
  • What proportion of the overall anticipated income from the Apprenticeship Levy will come from the education sector and how does this compare to other employment sector? For example, it is estimated that less than 2% of employers will have to pay the levy but over 95% of schools will need to pay.  Does the Treasury modelling not highlight a significant disproportionate impact of this levy on schools and other public sector organisations?

 

Directed towards the Department for Education:

  • What modelling exists to show that schools with low levels of deprivation and/or English as an Additional Language will have a sufficient funding settlement under the proposed formula? Can this modelling and research be shared well in advance of the close of the consultation period?
  • When does the DfE plan to publish the research it commissioned into how much money it actually takes to run a school? Will this research be published well in advance of the deadline for the NFF consultation (22nd March 2017) to allow informed responses?
  • How will the DfE support schools who are required to manage their falling real-terms budget position? It takes a significant amount of time to reduce expenditure within a school, how will schools be supported to avoid the “financial cliff-edge”?
  • Any successful business model is based on both reducing expenditure and finding efficiencies and also raising income. Successful schools who are full have a ceiling on their income position and therefore any increased costs cannot be offset; what practical strategies are the DfE promoting in order to support schools to further raise their income base? 
  • What research exists to show that students living in IDACI bands D, E and F have an increased need for additional funding as per the NFF proposals? Is this a political move to demonstrate support for JAMs (“just about managing”) or is it rooted in educational research regarding student needs?

 

Highlighting Practical Concerns to your MP and/or Minister:

  • Reduction in opportunities for students in aspects of the curriculum which are more expensive to run, e.g. art, music, drama, dance, product design, PE, food, textiles, etc.
  • Reduction in standards through the employment of staff who are not as experienced or qualified
  • Reduction in welfare and behaviour support
  • Reduction in support for vulnerable young people
  • Reduction in mental health support services
  • Increased expectation on parents/carers to fund aspects of their child’s education provision
  • Increased class sizes

 

 

 

Further information from our previous Newsletter (2nd Feb 2017) highlighting funding issues at Lane End Primary School

 

School Funding

Schools have historically received different amounts of funding depending on whereabouts in the country they are. Stockport is one of the lowest funded Local Authorities in the country and Lane End has always been one of the lowest funded schools within the authority (as the per pupil funding takes into account such factors as level of deprivation). In 2015-16 the national average per pupil grant funding was £4567, in Stockport it was £3928 and at Lane End it was £3734. That means we receive £833 per pupil less than the national average. If we were funded at the national average level we would receive an additional £174,930 each year.  In addition to this, we don’t receive much additional funding which comes in to schools in the form of the Pupil Premium.

We have been managing with a budget which is far lower than the average for many years. We have been prudent and efficient – we have had to make many efficiency savings and cut resources and have also benefitted from PTA fundraising and your support to help fund important projects. However, the budget situation has become increasingly difficult over the last few years. Costs go up each year and our budget is not increased in line with the rising costs involved in running the school. Added to this, capital budgets to spend on the school building and ICT infrastructure were drastically reduced in 2011 – at Lane End we saw a drop from approximately £20 000 per year to approximately £6000 per year. Recently, to compound matters further, from last year we had to pay additional National Insurance and pension contributions which the government used to pay (approximately £40 000 per year) and this year there is an additional apprenticeship levy which all Local Authority schools must pay (approximately £5000) – no additional funding has been put in place for these additional costs.

It is recognised that the discrepancies across Local Authorities are unfair, as schools with similar intakes but in different Local Authorities could be receiving very different funding levels. It is an unfair system based on a ‘postcode lottery’ and as a school we were delighted when in 2015 the government promised to introduce a fairer funding system for schools. This ‘National Fairer Funding Formula’ was then proposed in December 2016 and is due to be introduced in 2018-19. Unfortunately, we do not believe it has been well conceived. No additional money has been put into the system, the proposed formula is still tied to historical discrepancies and the split between the ‘lump sum’ figure (a set amount of money each school gets) and per pupil amount has been weighted more towards per pupil funding - because of this many smaller school are worse off.   So, instead of gaining as we had expected, based on the figures recently released, Lane End actually loses money under the proposed funding formula - approximately £13 000 each year.

This further reduction added to the increasing costs already mentioned is simply untenable and will have an inevitable impact on the education and provision we can provide at Lane End. I am meeting with the governing body to make our response. We will be contacting Cheadle Hulme’s MP, Mrs Mary Robinson, and will also be completing the Government’s online consultation documentation. I am also part of a representative group of headteachers working with the Local Authority to make a Stockport wide response – there will be a further letter coming home in due course. We also need your help. One way to do this is through the national consultation:

https://consult.education.gov.uk/funding-policy-unit/schools-national-funding-formula2/

The consultation process is open until 22nd March 2017. Unfortunately the lay out and questions on the national consultation process are not particularly accessible. As a result, we feel that the best course of action is for as many of our parents as possible to express their views to our MP, Mrs Mary Robinson, who can be contacted at:

 

Mary Robinson MP
8A Station Road
Cheadle Hulme
SK8 5AE

mary.robinson.mp@parliament.uk

0161 672 6855

https://www.mary-robinson.org.uk/

 

Your support in this respect would be much appreciated. If you would like to talk to me about the issue then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.