White Paper to propose national funding formula for schools: report

An education White Paper to be published next week will herald a switch from the dedicated schools grant to a national funding formula for all state schools, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.

The newspaper also predicted that the White Paper would see:

• proposals to allow the best performing schools to take on more pupils – while unpopular schools will see numbers dwindle
• changes to planning laws to allow schools greater flexibility to increase classroom space, and
• the creation of a new quango to control education finances for five to 18-year-olds.

The funding shake-up will mean schools receiving roughly the same amount for each pupil “in a move that will reduce the amount of power wielded by local authorities over education budgets”.

Schools with large numbers of children from deprived areas will win more money in line with coalition plans for a "pupil premium", the Daily Telegraph added.

Baroness Eaton, chairman of the Local Government Association, told the paper: “While local authorities may have managed education budgets for more than a century, the amount of control councils actually have has steadily diminished while interference from central Government has increased.

"We believe it would be better to retain the current streamlined method for schools funding which channels public money effectively to schools via local councils, without the need for creating additional bureaucracy.”