AN EVESHAM headteacher has claimed the Government’s new funding formula is ‘unlikely to fully compensate’ Vale schools which have been chronically underfunded for decades.
Dr Tony Evans, headteacher of Prince Henry’s High School, spoke to the Observer in response to the new National Funding Formula which will see a funding boost for all schools across the country.
From 2018/19, schools will receive funding rises of at least 0.5per cent in 2018/19 and one per cent in 2019/20.
The new system has been introduced after decades of lobbying by local headteachers and parents angry at the underfunding of the Vale’s schools. There is still a £1,000 funding gap per pupil per year between schools in Worcestershire and schools in Birmingham.
Last week, Evesham’s MP Nigel Huddleston claimed the ‘historic inequalities’ would be brought to an end under the new funding formula.
However, Dr Evans appears to dispute this claim and told the Observer the funding boost Vale schools will receive is unlikely to make up for the years of underfunding.
“Whilst we welcome an attempt to address funding disparities through the National Funding Formula, as the Local Authority will retain control over the allocation via the Local Schools Funding Formula for the next two years, it is too early to say how this will affect individual schools in Evesham,” Dr Evans said.
“It should also be pointed out that schools all over the country will be benefiting from the new National Funding Formula. Therefore, although the differential in levels of funding between different regions may be reduced, Worcestershire will still be relatively underfunded, and the money that has been promised by government is unlikely to fully compensate for the budget cuts schools have endured in recent years.
“Furthermore, the National Funding Formula does not address the urgent needs of post-16 funding and therefore any monetary rise for schools with Sixth Forms will not be felt across the whole school.
“We will continue to campaign on this very important issue and are most grateful to our local MP Nigel Huddleston who has been supportive in terms of campaigning for a Fair Funding Formula for schools in his constituency.”
