Cuts to School Funding

[editorialmoo]

Hi Everyone,

My daughter goes to Edmund Waller Primary School and a group of parents are considering what the options may be for taking some form of action against the recently announced school cuts. Edmund Waller is set to lose ?233,027 over the next 2 years and other local schools will have huge cuts as well. You can see how it affects your school and sign the petition here:

http://www.schoolcuts.org.uk/#/

There is a good article about it here:

https://www.theguardian.com/education/school-funding

In the light of this I wondered if any other schools were taking any kind of action. Would be great to have some joined up thinking on this.

Please share any knowledge you have.

Thank you!

[jac2blade]

Hi,

I'm an EW parent as well so v happy to be involved in any way I can!

Don't know if you have heard of the group Rescue Our Schools (http://www.rescueourschools.co.uk/), who are a national parent led group campaigning on all aspects of state education? They are trying to link together local grass roots parent organisations and I think one of the original organisers is actually based in Lewisham (my brother is the coordinator in the north).

[Saffron]

I don't understand if/how the cost of living is being taken into account with these proposed changes to funding? I understand some small, remote schools appear to have relatively higher running costs, but how is the high cost of London living being weighted? These changes would seem abrupt and clumsy. Surely making less drastic changes over a longer time scale would be more prudent?

[flocker spotter]

How come Dulwich Hamlet does not lose any funding whilst all the more diverse schools (ie with higher proportions of FSM children) stand to loose ?750 to ?1,000 per child!!

[editorialmoo]

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/jan/08/school-funding-cuts-worse-than-predicted

[dhjs]

Southwark Head Teachers had an extremely useful meeting today about a number of ways of supporting school to school collaboration. There was also a presentation about the new national funding formula.

I'm not sure where the above posters are getting information in relation to this, but caution should be taken - undoubtedly urban schools will be affected by up to an overall budget cut of 1.4% but the government has actually increased the prior attainment and deprivation factors within the formula.

This means that schools that serve in areas with greater deprivation (as measured by postcode), or which have more FSM entitlement, or which have more children who speak english as an additional language, will receive MORE funding.

There will be an agreed identical per pupil amount for every Southwark child, which then is increased according to the factors listed above.

I'm not sure why flocker spotter thinks DHJS will receive more, quite the reverse. However all schools receive some "protection" from previous budget incomes so maybe it's that?

There will also be additional support for London schools to afford to pay the higher London wages that our staff so need and deserve.

Sonia Case

Executive Head Teacher

Dulwich Hamlet Junior School and The Belham Primary School

[Saffron]

So, areas with greater deprivation receive more funding. Got it.

BUT, that will be coming at the expense of schools that are doing ok, even in the most deprived boroughs? Both Hackney and Tower Hamlets are could lose 1.4% from their 2018/19 budgets? http://schoolsweek.co.uk/national-funding-formula-the-winners-and-losers-by-local-authority-area/

That seems like cutting off the nose to spite the face. Britain is not a poor country. Schools are not 'over-funded', surely? Why make cuts at all to such an essential service? Education is an investment in the long-term success of any country, no?

I applaud the efforts of educators to support their schools through potential serious funding loss, but I'm saddened that we're even having a conversation where we're discussing such far-reaching cuts to so many schools. xx

[LondonMix]

This Guardian article is a little confusing (intentionally). 11,000 schools will gain extra funds and 9,000 schools will lose funding (with a high concentration of those being in London). However, they quote people who claim the majority of schools will lose out.

I know the existing formula is unfair to areas outside of London which is unacceptable in a democracy.

Like Saffron, I'd prefer to see the funding for other schools increased to London levels rather than have the existing money in the pot just split more fairly / evenly. However, when the largest voting block in the country elects a party promising tax cuts like increasing the income tax threshold the best you can hope for is that the most important public services are kept steady and not cut.

I'd be more inclined to sign a petition to increase income taxes (via delaying the increase in the tax free allowance) that will be ring-fenced specifically for increasing education funding for schools that are currently relatively underfunded than simply insisting that the current unfair formula remains in place.

editorialmoo Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Hi Everyone,

>

> My daughter goes to Edmund Waller Primary School

> and a group of parents are considering what the

> options may be for taking some form of action

> against the recently announced school cuts. Edmund

> Waller is set to lose ?233,027 over the next 2

> years and other local schools will have huge cuts

> as well. You can see how it affects your school

> and sign the petition here:

>

> http://www.schoolcuts.org.uk/#/

>

> There is a good article about it here:

>

> https://www.theguardian.com/education/school-fundi

> ng

>

> In the light of this I wondered if any other

> schools were taking any kind of action. Would be

> great to have some joined up thinking on this.

>

> Please share any knowledge you have.

>

> Thank you!

[editorialmoo]

I went to the Fair Funding for All Schools campaign launch last night. There must have been over 150 parents at a primary school in North London, with standing room only at the back. It was an incredible turn out. As well as the campaign organisers Kevin Courtney, General Secretary of the NUT and Catherine West MP were there.

This is a very real issue and one that we will really begin to feel in South London over the next couple of years.

The overwhelming message at the meeting last night was that Parent Power has the most chance of affecting change if we make our voice heard. There are a lot of disgruntled MP's who are also losing out to this and we need to make sure we put enough continuous pressure on them in as many ways as possible so they can take our message to the top. Our kids only have one go at getting an education. Let's make sure they get a fair go.

The campaign have launched a new and vital petition. Please sign it here and share throughout your schools urgently:

https://www.change.org/p/rt-hon-justine-greening-mp-fair-funding-for-all-schools