NAHT has welcomed government proposals to pave the way for a more straightforward funding formula for schools.
Announcing the plans today, Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, said he proposed to begin the process of removing anomalies in the school funding system in a bid to make the allocation of resources simpler and fairer.
Russell Hobby, general secretary of the NAHT, said the school leaders’ union welcomed the announcement as a significant step forward.
Mr Hobby said: “We have a long way to go in achieving the simple, streamlined method of funding our schools that the NAHT would like to see, but today’s announcement demonstrates that the government recognises that the current system is unfair and is keen to begin the process of changing it.
“For example, we like the proposal to limit the number of factors local authorities can consider when calculating individual school funds; this will help make the process of working out how much schools can receive much simpler and that has got to be a good thing. We are also pleased to see a commitment to maximum delegation to schools. However, today’s announcement will not address the cross-boundary anomalies that exist between neighbouring local authorities, resulting in similar schools receiving very different budgets. This must be the next issue that is resolved to ensure all schools and pupils receive a fair allocation of funding, whatever their needs.
“We will keep pressing the government to continue moving towards a national funding formula that is clear and fair to all schools and in the meantime we welcome today’s announcement as a very firm step in that direction.”
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