The petition of residents of Tiverton and Honiton,
Declares that parents have concerns about funding for schools in the constituency of Tiverton and Honiton; further that Tiverton High School is facing pressure on staff numbers and further that parents and teachers in Tiverton and Honiton are concerned about ability to maintain high school standards.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons does not let those cuts take place.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Neil Parish, Official Report, 19 July 2018; Vol. 645, c. 12P.]
[P002242]
Observations from the Minister for School Standards (Nick Gibb):
School funding is at its highest ever level at £42.4 billion this year and £43.5 billion next year. Figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies show that real terms per pupil funding in 2020 will be more than 50% higher than it was in 2000. A primary school class is now funded to £132,000 up from 10 years ago and a secondary school class is funded up to £171,000 more.
By 2019-20, all schools across the country, including schools in Tiverton and Honiton, will attract an increase of at least 1% per pupil compared to their 2017-18 baselines. Those schools that have been historically underfunded will attract up to 6% more, per pupil, compared to 2017-18—a further 3% on top of the 3% they gained in 2018-19—as we continue to address historic injustices.
Under the national funding formula, schools in Tiverton and Honiton will attract an average increase of 1.9% per pupil by 2019-20, compared to 2017-18 funding levels. This represents an increase of £82 per pupil. Based on 2018-2019 pupil figures, this amounts to a total funding increase of 4%, or £2 million. Full details of formula allocations can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government /publications/national-funding-formula-tables-for-schools-and-high-needs-2019-to-2020.
We do recognise that many schools have worked hard to manage the impact of cost pressures on their budgets. Most of these pressures have been absorbed by schools, at the same time as standards continue to rise. There are now 1.9 million more pupils in good or outstanding schools compared to 2010.
We continue to provide support, guidance and tools to help schools achieve the best value from their resources, further details of which can be found at http://tinyurl.com/HUTWG36. This includes information for school leaders, so they can better consider a range of options for their staff structures. There are many examples of schools making improvements through revising the deployment of staff. For example, by reducing workload, reviewing curriculum planning, sharing staff across sites or schools, changing the make-up of the leadership team, new approaches to flexible working, and reviewing the balance of teaching and support staff. We published the School Workforce Planning guidance which helps school leaders address this in a structured way—with a series of prompts and questions, linking through to available evidence (for example from the Education Endowment Foundation) and benchmarking information.