Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Under the national funding formula, schools that are more deprived have fared worse than those...
Recommendation
Under the national funding formula, schools that are more deprived have fared worse than those that are less deprived. In 2018–19, the Department introduced a national funding formula with the aim of allocating school funding more transparently, consistently and fairly across the country. The new formula has made allocations more transparent and consistent, but it has also led to a re-balancing of funding away from more deprived schools towards less deprived schools. Between 2017–18 and 2020–21, average per-pupil funding fell in real terms by 1.2% for the most deprived fifth of schools, but increased by 2.9% for the least deprived fifth. The Department highlights that funding allocations have been catching up with changes in patterns of deprivation across the country since the early 2000s. However, the relative re-distribution of funding is also the result of the Department introducing minimum per-pupil funding levels, which have benefited the least deprived schools. In July 2021, the Department began a consultation on moving to a ‘hard’ national funding formula under which it would set schools’ budgets directly. Recommendation: Before moving towards a hard national funding formula, the Department should publish an assessment of the likely impact of the proposed changes on individual schools and different types of schools.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
2.2 The national funding formula (NFF) distributes funding for schools fairly, based on the needs of schools and their pupils. This includes targeted funding for schools which have higher numbers of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and other additional needs. The introduction of the NFF fixed a broken system that had not reflected changes in need since the early 2000s. The shifting pattern of deprivation funding seen in the NFF significantly reflects schools’ funding catching up with changes in the pattern of deprivation since that time. The lower than average increases in funding in London, for example, reflect significant decreases in deprivation levels from 2005 to 2017, whereas areas where deprivation levels increased over this period have benefited from larger than average funding increases through the NFF.