The issue of funding in schools is not as straightforward as we just do not get as much as elsewhere. I wrote to the Department of Education in October and November to demand an explanation and the key extracts are below:
“The purpose of the national funding formula (NFF) is not to give every school the same level of per pupil funding. It is right that schools with lots of pupils with additional needs receive extra funding to help them meet the needs of all their pupils. In addition, schools in more expensive areas attract higher funding per pupil than other parts of the country to reflect the higher costs they face.
In total, Devon local authority is attracting an extra £10.9 million for schools in 2024-25, an increase of 2.1% per pupil, excluding growth funding, through the schools NFF compared to 2023-24, and an increase of 14.5% per pupil compared to 2021-22.
Through the 2024-25 NFF, Devon local authority’s average funding per pupil is £5,713 (or £5,165 per primary pupil and £6,339 per secondary pupil). This amount is lower than the national average of £5,950 (or £5,293 per primary pupil and £6,808 per secondary pupil). Devon’s per pupil funding reflects the authority’s lower-than-average levels of deprived pupils.
In Devon, 18.5% of pupils receive funding for the free school meal (FSM) factor, compared to the national average of 24%. Similarly, 20.8% of pupils in the authority are attracting funding for FSM6 (for pupils who are recorded as having been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years), compared to the national average of 26%. Devon’s proportion of pupils eligible for other additional needs factors, such as Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index and English as an additional language, are also below the national averages. North Devon constituency’s funding at £5,803 per pupil is comparatively more than Devon local authority’s because the proportion of pupils attracting FSM (19.9%) and FSM6 (22.4%) is higher, but still below the national average.”
Unfortunately, whilst we remain a large education authority we are blighted by the average of a situation where the average funding awarded to Devon as a whole hides the variance in need between different parts of the county. As many of you know my preference has been for some time to look to council reform and create a rural central/northern unitary which would save much money by reducing costs from multiple layers of councils. It would also enable the new unitary to be more uniform in its needs and attract the additional funding we unfortunately do rightly deserve. However, this is not my decision, indeed the last unitary proposal was rejected by public vote and whilst I continue to fight for additional funding to reflect our coastal and rural location the averages across the Devon County Council determines what we receive.”
