Schools with the poorest children set to be hit hardest by future funding cuts

The analysis by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) using DfE data examines the 997 state schools with more than 40 per cent of children on free school meals.

It finds that under the Government’s current plans for a new national schools funding formula, the primary schools analysed would on average lose £473 per pupil in real terms. This is £140 more than the average per pupil for primary schools generally. 

It also shows that for secondary schools with more than 40 per cent of children on free school meals, the average pupil will be £803 worse off, a staggering £326 more than the average secondary pupil generally. 

Kevin Courtney, general secretary of the NUT, said, ’It is disturbing to find now that the children most in need are in the schools that will be hardest hit. If children who are growing up in poverty do not receive an education that is well resourced and funded then the Government will be seriously threatening their life chances.’Justine Greening must listen to the many voices that are saying her funding proposals are unfair in the extreme and in need of a complete rethink.

‘Unless additional money is found for all our schools then this country’s state education system will be put in jeopardy.’

The NUT had previously exposed that the government’s funding freeze will leave 98 per cent of England’s schools worse off in real terms, although the proposed reforms to the funding formula were supposed to ‘mean an end to historical unfairness and underfunding for certain schools’, according to Education Secretary Justine Greening.

Andrew Baisle, a maths teacher and NUT member, said, ‘Almost all schools face cuts over this Parliament (98 per cent) but why are schools serving deprived communities worst hit? The biggest reason is that councils in areas with very high needs generally recognised this in their local funding formula.

‘The Government has now created a single national formula largely by averaging out the current arrangements, so areas with particularly high needs have tended to lose most. The Government should have done this process the other way round by working out what education costs in different types of schools and then building a funding system based on that research.’

While many big city schools in places like London and Manchester are set to lose out in favour of schools in the suburbs and shire counties, there are also rural areas where schools will suffer if the current proposals are passed in parliament.

One example is Devon, where schools are already £290 worse off per pupil than the national average. According to an analysis by Devon County Council, 61.9 per cent of Devon school children are in schools that will lose out even more under the new formula.

According to the NUT and Child Poverty Action Group, nine children in every UK class of 30 are living below the poverty line, which means they come from households with earnings below 60 per cent of the median income.

Two thirds of children living in poverty in the UK have at least one working parent. The IFS projects a 50 per cent increase in child poverty by 2020. Yet, under the Government’s funding proposals, the 5 per cent of schools serving the poorest children will be the biggest losers.

Alison Garnham, chief executive of CPAG, said, ‘These are shocking figures. If the country – and our education system – is to work for everyone, not just the privileged few, Ministers must reconsider the school funding formula.

‘Poverty at home is the strongest statistical predictor of how well a child will do at school. Up and down the country there are kids from hard-up households who find the odds are stacked against them both inside and outside the school gates. They may aim high, their parents’ and teachers’ aspirations may be strong – they may love school – but if there isn’t money at home for books, for an extra booster lesson or computer or even space for a homework desk, then they’re being denied a fair chance in life.’

• Predicted funding cuts for each school can be found at www.schoolcuts.org.uk, a website that was developed by NUT and the Association of Teachers & Lecturers (ATL).