Since becoming the Member of Parliament for Brentwood and Ongar last month I have been speaking to head teachers in the constituency about the challenges they face. Most of the discussions have centred around funding and the recruitment and retention of staff. I've been feeding this information back to the Government to ensure the effect on schools is understood.
I was in the House of Commons Chamber this week to hear the Education Secretary, Justine Greening, announce an additional £1.3billion funding for schools in England, to support the transition to a national funding formula from April 2018. The Secretary of State said:
"School funding is at a record high because of the choices we have made to protect and increase school funding even as we faced difficult decisions elsewhere to restore our country’s finances, but we recognise that at the election people were concerned about the overall level of funding for schools as well as its distribution. As the Prime Minister has said, we are determined to listen. That is why I am today confirming our plans to get on with introducing a national funding formula in 2018-19. I can announce that that will now be supported by significant extra investment into the core schools budget over the next two years.
""The additional funding I am setting out today, together with the introduction of a national funding formula, will provide schools with the investment they need to offer a world-class education to every child. There will therefore be £1.3 billion for schools and high needs across 2018-19 and 2019-20 in addition to the schools budget set at spending review 2015. This funding is across the next two years as we transition to the national funding formula. Spending plans for the years beyond 2019-20 will be set out in a future spending review.
"As a result of this investment, core funding for schools and high needs will rise from almost £41 billion in 2017-18 to £42.4 billion in 2018-19. In 2019-20 it will rise again to £43.5 billion. This represents £1.3 billion in additional investment, £416 million more than was set aside at the last spending review for the core school budget in 2018-19, and £884 million more in 2019-20. It will mean that the total schools budget will increase by £2.6 billion between this year and 2019-20, and per pupil funding will now be maintained in real terms for the remaining two years of the spending review period to 2019-20.
"These are significant reforms, and together they will mean that we can provide every school with the resources they need to offer every pupil a world-class education."
I was able to congratulate my Right Hon. Friend on the statement, and noted schools in Brentwood and Ongar will be delighted to hear that per-pupil funding is being protected in real terms, and taxpayers will be delighted to hear that it is being done through departmental efficiencies within the Department for Education.