Johnson promises 2pc increase in spending for all state schools

ALL STATE school pupils in England are to receive an increase in central government funding of at least two per cent next year, Boris Johnson has confirmed.

Under the settlement, secondary schools will attract a minimum of £5,150 per pupil – up from £5,000 this year – while primary schools will get at least £4,000 per pupil, up from £3,750.

The Department for Education (DfE) said the annual increase of £2.2bn would see most local authorities receive rises of at least per cent per pupil.

There will be smaller rises for some “historically higher funded” local authorities, while small and remote schools in rural areas will get additional cash reflecting their particular pressures.

The increase is the second instalment of a three-year settlement which will see annual funding rise by £7.1bn over the period.

The Prime Minister said: “Every child deserves a superb education – regardless of which school they attend, or where they happened to grow up.

“That is why we are providing additional funding now and for the future for every school – with those historically underfunded receiving the greatest increase.”

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson added: “This year has been incredibly challenging for schools, teachers and students due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

“Not only are we confirming another year of increased and better targeted funding for our schools, but with our transformative national funding formula we are making sure the money is distributed fairly across the country so all schools can drive up standards.”

The DfE said schools would also benefit from the Government’s one-off £1bn Covid-19 “catch up” package to make up for the impact of lost teaching time due to school closures.

Under the scheme, a secondary school with 1,000 pupils will receive £80,000 and a 200-pupil primary school will receive £16,000.

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) welcomed the announcement that the Government was continuing to deliver on the three-year settlement but said it was “disappointed”

This year has been incredibly challenging for schools, teachers and students Education Secretary Gavin Williamson on the increased funding for schools .

it had not addressed the costs of bringing back schools safely after the lockdown.

“It presently has no plans to reimburse additional costs incurred as a result of implementing the safety measures which must be introduced to enable the return of all pupils,” said the ASCL general secretary Geoff Barton.

“These include extensive cleaning schedules, large quantities of hand sanitisers, extra hand-washing facilities, and cover for staff who are unable to attend because they are self-isolating.

“Schools’ budgets are very tight and they simply do not have enough money to cope with a national emergency.”

Nick Brook, the deputy general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, which has members in about two-thirds of schools, welcomed the additional funding for smaller schools but warned the money from the “catch-up” package may not be enough.

“A per-pupil allocation will take account of the size of the school but is unlikely to reflect the scale of the challenge faced,” he said. “Schools serving the most deprived communities may find that additional funding may not go far enough to address the true cost of this crisis.”