Reconsider The National Funding Formula so that NO child at school will LOSE out

Some schools will suffer £1000's in cuts over the next 3 years under the NFF. The Government should reconsider the introduction of the National Funding Formula and commit to provide additional funding to schools in more deprived areas without cutting funding to schools already struggling.

I support the need for children in more deprived areas to benefit from additional resources but that should not be at the expense of my own child’s education. Previous restrictive funding arrangements have meant that some schools have operated with no viable contingency for years, but have managed to balance budgets by making significant year-on-year cuts and increasing reliance on donations. Schools can not absorb further cuts without reducing staffing and asking parents to contribute more.

Please respond online here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/funding-policy-unit/schools-national-funding-formula2/

The Government has protected the core schools budget in real terms for the duration of this Parliament. School funding is at its highest level on record, and will be over £40bn in 2017-18. Additionally, as school funding is driven by pupil numbers, where pupil numbers rise, the amount of money schools receive will also increase.

But the system for distributing that record amount of funding is unfair, opaque and outdated. Similar schools, educating similar pupils, receive very different levels of funding with little or no justification, because the system is based on historic data and has not kept up with changes since it was established more than a decade ago. We are determined to end this postcode lottery and make sure that funding is consistent across the country, rather than depending on where children happen to live. That is why we are introducing a national funding formula for schools. The national funding formula does not affect how much money is available for schools overall – it is purely about ensuring that that money is distributed more fairly across the country. The national funding formula will mean that, for the first time, we will have a clear, simple and transparent system that matches funding to children’s needs and the school they attend. More than half of England’s schools, many of which have been under funded for years, will see their funding increase as a result of our reforms.

The biggest element of our formula will be basic per-pupil funding. This will make up about three-quarters of the total funding and means that every child, regardless of circumstances, will attract a consistent amount of money to their school. We also want to support schools as they continue to work to break the link between disadvantage and attainment. So we think it is right that schools serving children with additional needs, who face entrenched barriers to their success, benefit from extra resources to help support these children. That is why we are also proposing to target money towards pupils who have additional needs through the formula.