Labour councillors in B&NES have called on the Conservative Cabinet member to reconsider a recent decision on school funding, saying it will entrench inequality, because some schools in the most deprived areas will lose out on many thousands of pounds. The Conservatives have in turn accused Labour of misleading local parents, saying that no school will lose out under the proposed new funding formula, with all schools receiving an increase in their per-pupil funding.

The Cabinet member for Children and Young People has taken a decision to allocate additional Government funding for schools according to a national funding formula rather than the local funding formula which has previously been used. A scrutiny panel will now have to look again at the decision next Tuesday, 16th January, as a result of the Labour call-in, which was signed by ten Councillors. They cite some of the most deprived schools in the area as missing out, such as Twerton Infants School, which under the new scheme will see its funding increase by only £3,000, whereas it would have expected an additional £88,000 under the old method.

Cllr Joe Rayment (Labour, Twerton) Deputy Leader of B&NES Labour Group, said: “As a result of this decision, three schools serving the most deprived communities in B&NES, Roundhill, St Michael’s CofE Juniors and Twerton Infants, will between them lose £187K. How can this possibly be fair or justified? These are schools where funds are needed to support children, many of whom have additional needs.

“I understand that there is limited funding available, and it has to be shared out between all schools. I don’t want money to be taken away from those other schools who will benefit from this decision. Instead, before he made his decision, I asked the Cabinet member to consider how he might be able to put in place some kind of interim funding to provide a buffer to those schools that are set to lose out, and to help them adjust over a longer period of time. He has failed to do this.

“The impact of a loss of funding on these schools cannot be underestimated. It will be utterly devastating, and it must be very hard for them to look across the city at other schools gaining in excess of six figures as a result of this decision.

“On top of this, the decision was taken on 27th December. 21 schools will be negatively affected, and it’s unfair on staff, particularly Headteachers, for it to be taken right in the middle of the Christmas holidays.”

In a B&NES report, it notes that a consultation was carried out between October and November last year with local schools, with a briefing held on 31st October and a further forum on 14th November. The report notes that ‘whilst some schools in our most deprived wards would benefit from the Local Formula being retained, analysis of funding levels shows that these schools will continue to be the highest funded schools in the local authority, despite a smaller increase.’

In total, schools in B&NES will receive an additional £3.7m in funding from this April, with every school receiving a 0.5% increase per pupil as a minimum. Schools serving the most deprived communities will also continue to receive additional funding through the Government’s Pupil Premium policy.

Councillor Paul May, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “It’s disappointing that some Labour and Lib-Dem councillors have decided to oppose the introduction of this new funding formula, which is supported by local schools through the Schools Forum and would ensure that every school in the B&NES area receives an increase in funding.

“The new funding formula aims to address historical anomalies in the way schools are funded, which currently sees some schools receiving nearly twice as much funding per pupil than others.

Crucially, no school would lose out under the new formula, with every school receiving an increase in their per-pupil budget. To suggest otherwise is simply misleading to local parents.

“Schools serving more deprived communities will also continue to receive additional funding, including through the Pupil Premium, which provides additional funding for each pupil eligible for free school meals.

“Overall, schools in B&NES will see their budgets rise by nearly £3.7 million from next year – one of the biggest increases in the country.

“The Council consulted extensively and surveyed all local schools on these proposals, and the clear majority of schools, including the Schools Forum, expressed the view that we should adopt the new formula from this April.

“It’s therefore very disappointing that some Labour and Lib-Dem councillors are not willing to listen to what the majority of local schools have said they prefer, and appear happy to allow the historic underfunding of some local schools to continue.”