An MP who campaigned for extra funding for schools in Cheshire has welcomed figures showing more money per pupil will be handed to local education chiefs next year.
The Department for Education has published provisional allocations for 2020-21 which show schools across Tatton will receive a share of nearly £42 million. A breakdown from the DfE allocates £4,247 per Tatton primary school pupil and £5,984 per secondary school pupil.
Provisional allocations also include figures for each local authority and include a combined funding per pupil figure across both secondary and primary schools in that area. Government figures show Cheshire East will be handed nearly £220,000 and Cheshire West and Chester nearly £210,000.
Tatton MP Esther McVey said: “I have repeatedly called for more money to be given to schools in my constituency and am delighted Government is committed to putting record levels of money into education and increasing funding year on year. Government has said it is committed to ensuring a minimum of £4,000 per pupil for primary schools and £5,000 for secondary schools by 2021-2022 so I am extremely pleased that our area has already exceeded that funding target. It is for council’s to determine final allocations from the total but it is clear the money is available.
“I have met with head teachers, governors and parents who have been worried about school funding. Earlier this year we met with the then Education Secretary Damian Hinds so he could hear firsthand the unique challenges some schools in the area face.
“I am passionate about giving children the best start in life and education is key so we need to make sure our excellent teachers have the resources they need to deliver a first class education. That is why continued increased investment in schools must be a priority and is an issue I will keep campaigning on.”
A breakdown of the DfE figures show an increase of 4.14 per cent on last year’s funding for Cheshire East putting the per pupil funding at £4,513 (an average for both primary and secondary school pupils) and an increase for Cheshire West and Cheshire of 3.65 per cent the equivalent of £4,637 per pupil.
The figures come after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the budget for schools and high needs would be increased by a total of over £14 billion over three years, rising to £52.2 billion by 2022-23. It also pledged by 2021-22 primary school pupils funding will be at least £4,000 and £5,000 for secondary school pupils.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “This will be the third year that funding is allocated through the schools National Funding Formula – a historic reform to the school funding system which moves towards funding schools based on pupils’ needs and characteristics, not accidents of history or geography.
“Our continued investment will help to ensure that every child can benefit from a superb education, no matter where they grow up. Coupled with a bold reform agenda and the work of Ofsted, it will supercharge the ongoing rise in school standards and support our mission to build a world class education system.”
In 2017 days after being elected as MP for Tatton Ms McVey spoke in Parliament demanding assurances – which she was given – no school in Tatton or across the county would lose money under the Government’s new funding formula.
