Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how his Department reached a figure of £4,800 as the assumed figure to deliver secondary education according to the new funding formula.
Following consultation on the national funding formula, the Government examined how best it can support schools with lower levels of additional needs funding. A number of consultation replies requested the Government set a minimum level of funding per pupil. A range of different minimum levels of per pupil funding were proposed, but the most commonly suggested level for secondary schools was £4,800. We believe that setting a minimum amount of £4,800 in 2019-20 strikes an appropriate, affordable balance in the formula.
The Government does not suggest that £4,800 per pupil is the minimum amount needed to run a secondary school. There is no consensus on the minimum operating cost of a school and we believe it should be for heads and governors to decide their operating model.