NAHT Cumbria Branch has received an initial response to our open letter from Elizabeth Truss MP stating that “officials are examining your ideas and suggestions” and that our “suggestions have been noted”.
As school leaders respond to a consultation about the implementation of the National Funding Formula in Cumbria, NAHT Cumbria have evaluated the documentation and have the following points to make:
- The majority of Cumbria’s schools are forecast to receive a modest increase to their basic, per-pupil income as a result of the NFF, therefore NAHT Cumbria Branch is broadly in favour of implementing it in 2018-19, however…
- There are schools which will receive a reduction in their basic, per-pupil income as a result of the NFF; NAHT Cumbria Branch are requesting that these schools contact us so that we can understand the implications for service provision.
- The NFF helps to address a historic underfunding of Cumbria’s schools, although it should be noted that it is to be implemented at a time at which the overall national funding allocation has not kept in step with rising costs for schools. While tight school budgets may be eased to an extent, calculations show that many will still have to consider making cutbacks in order to achieve a balanced budget.
- NAHT will continue to campaign for real-term funding cuts (all income and expenditure factored in) to be fully addressed to ensure that no school is adversely affected by changes to school funding or the cost rises schools already face.
- Pupil eligibility for deprivation-based funding is still a grey area, with final calculations of eligibility likely to dramatically affect the final income figures calculated for schools, either positively or negatively. NAHT is campaigning for automatic registration of pupils for FSM/EVER6 as the information to calculate entitlement is already accessible to civil servants.
Commenting on the latest developments, Clem Coady, NAHT Cumbria Branch President stated:
“The NAHT have repeatedly stated our support for a fairer redistribution of funding. However, the National Funding Formula is being implemented at a time when schools are facing severe financial pressures. The National Audit Office already recognise that £3 bn is needed by 2019-20 to maintain current levels of education. Therefore £1.3 bn, while a welcome improvement on previous announcements, still falls significantly short of this figure.
“The Public Accounts Committee further warn ministers that education funding is currently at a similar rate as the 1990’s. When you compare funding spent on education as a % of GDP, we are currently spending less on education than the government of the early 1980s.”
“The additional income being quoted for some schools locally is a welcome redistribution, particularly since historically, Cumbria has been comparatively underfunded. Any additional income will go some way to addressing the numerous increased cost pressures on schools. However, when all the costs are factored in, this will still not be enough for many of Cumbria’s schools, with several already having to consider making drastic cuts to staffing and services to balance the books.
Graham Frost, NAHT Cumbria Branch Secretary commented:
“Politicians have a tendency to be selective in their quoting of figures. To quote a single line on a spreadsheet is misleading, and does not take account of the overall effects of reductions in other services outside the school budget, such as school nursing and specialist support for inclusion, all of which require schools to pick up substantial, additional costs to replace them. Nor does it take account of variable costs such as building maintenance, transport, or the increases to basic running costs which schools are powerless to avoid.
“We have written an open letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer expressing our concerns about school funding and have received a reply from Elizabeth Truss MP, stating that “officials are examining your ideas and suggestions” and that our “suggestions have been noted”. We also have meetings scheduled with local MPs, including Tim Farron, Trudy Harrison and Rory Stewart, all of whom are seeking to understand the specifics of the challenges facing our schools.”
NAHT Cumbria 