Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the National Funding Formula on (a) the number of school places, (b) spending per pupil, (c) school spending reserves and (d) sustainability of school funding in Sheffield Hallam constituency.

The national funding formula allocates the significant majority of funding for schools on a per pupil basis. Where the number of places increases, and those places are filled, the formula will allocate more funding accordingly. Similarly, if the number of pupils (and school places) decreases, less funding is allocated.

On average, schools in Sheffield Hallam constituency will attract 6.0% more funding per pupil by 2019-20, compared to 2017/18 – an increase of £248 per pupil. Total funding will increase by 7.6% when rising pupil numbers are also taken into account. These figures are based on 2018/19 pupil data.

The national funding formula came into force in April 2018. The Department does not collect data on school balances for the 2018/19 financial year, and therefore cannot draw conclusions about its effect on school reserves.

It is recognised schools have faced cost pressures in recent years. This is why a strategy has been announced setting out the support, current and planned, to help schools make the most of their available resources. The strategy can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-excellent-school-resource-management.