Sir – Oxfordshire County Council has recently undertaken a strategic review of school funding and is currently inviting responses. While the proposed new formula for allocating money to schools includes many sensible changes, it suffers from a major defect: inadequate weight is given to schools operating in areas of social disadvantage.
Not only does the proposal divert to a more general pot nearly £800,000 p.a. that is currently targeted on the 19 primary and four secondary schools serving areas of highest deprivation. It also undermines promised increases in the Pupil Premium in a way that clearly contradicts Government policy.
In a letter to Andrew Smith MP (November 7), Michael Gove wrote: “It is important that both local authorities and schools see the Pupil Premium as additional funding for deprived pupils, not money taken from other elements of the schools budget. By giving all pupils on free school meals a fixed and equal amount . . . we ensure that the system is simple and transparent.
“Teachers, local authorities and parents can easily understand how much their child is getting.” We believe that it would be unwise for the local authority to ignore such clear guidance.
Rose Hill Primary School, of which we are governors, received national attention as Most Improved Primary School in 2010, an achievement recently recognised by the Outstanding Progress Award awarded at the 2011 Education Business Awards held at the Emirates Stadium in London.
That kind of progress simply would not have been possible without our share of the funding targeted at deprived communities.
On behalf of all schools serving disadvantaged families, we urge the council to rethink.
Ali Akkas, Chairman, Headington; Christina Broad, Woodstock; Julia Goodwin, Oxford; John Sanders, Oxford; Mike Simm, Oxford; Adam Swift, Oxford
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