Councils will now be legally required to ensure every secondary school pupil receives at least £5,000 in funding and every primary school pupil receives at least £3,750 following legislation backed by Rachel Maclean, MP for Redditch.
Worcestershire County Council will now be required by law to make sure every school in Redditch receives these minimum levels of funding per pupil.
Previously, local authorities were not required to allocate the money for schools in this way – with many schools across the country, including in Worcestershire, falling below the recommended minimum levels of funding for each pupil.
This forms part of the government’s £14 billion funding boost for schools over the next three year.
Back in August, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the budget for schools and high needs would be increased by £2.6 billion in 2020/21, £4.8 billion in 2021/22 and £7.1 billion in 2022/23 respectively – plus an extra £1.5 billion per year to fund additional pension costs for teachers.
Some schools in Redditch will see increases of 12% and increases of even 19% in funding in 2020/21 as the Government levels up school funding across the country.
Middle schools in Redditch will also see some of the biggest increases in per pupil funding, including increases of 6.9% and 7.1% for some middle schools. And due to per pupil funding being split between primary and secondary, middle schools will receive the equivalent years funding.
Rachel said:
“As we all know, Worcestershire’s schools have been underfunded for decades under successive governments. Whilst the old funding formula benefited city schools, county’s like Worcestershire were left behind.
“It’s the efforts of local headteachers, campaigners and MPs who have got us to this position where school funding is being distributed more fairly than it has been in the past.
“I’m delighted this money will help continue level-up the financial support available for Redditch pupils. Every child, no matter their background, deserves a first-class education so they can unlock their full potential.”
