MP calls for fairer funding for county schools

A Gloucestershire MP is calling on the government to make school funding "fairer", with pupils in the county receiving up to £1,000 less each year compared to other parts of England.

Cameron Thomas, the Liberal Democrat MP for Tewkesbury, held a debate at Westminster Hall on Tuesday where he highlighted the discrepancy.

He said teachers in the county and across England are "on the front line of a genuine crisis to which they have been given no real answers".

The Department for Education (DfE) said it will review the way school funding is calculated ahead of the 2026/27 academic year.

The government pays local authorities money to provide education services through what is called the Dedicated Schools Grant.

It uses a number of measures such as deprivation levels and local costs to calculate how much each area should receive.

A spokesperson said: "We are reviewing the schools and high needs national funding formula (NFFs) for 2026-27 and the following years, recognising the importance of establishing a fair funding system."

Gloucestershire is currently in the bottom 20% when it comes to school funding.

This means pupils in the county receive up to £1,000 less each year compared to the 20% best funded areas.

Thomas, 42, said this has an impact on pupils and teachers, with one Gloucestershire head teacher telling him he spent his holiday fixing the school as it could not afford to employ a caretaker.

Speaking to the BBC after the debate, Thomas said: "Quite literally for a pupil it means they are being invested in to a lesser degree than pupils elsewhere in the country, and it might have a significant impact on the opportunities that are available to pupils within the education programme.

"But the other victims of this are the teachers.

"My head teachers are having to make decisions as to who they can afford to keep in term of their staff and who they need to let go."

Thomas has welcomed the government's promise to review the funding formula but said it must result in an increase in the overall money given to schools across England.

He believes the government could increase taxes on technology and social media companies to pay for it.

"Quite simply, I'm looking for more equity," he said.

"What I'm not asking for is to withdraw funds from those more lucratively funded areas of the country. I just want to make sure Gloucestershire gets it's fair share.

"I certainly wouldn't like to see Gloucestershire less funded than it is now, it's already in a terrible state and any decrease to their existing funding would be ruinous."

Alongside general mainstream school demands, councils across England are also struggling with the increasing costs associated with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision.

In Gloucestershire, it is estimated the SEND budget will reach a deficit of £170m by the end of the 2028 financial year.

The government currently allows local authorities to run this section of the budget at a deficit, but there is currently no clear plan as to how or when councils will be expected to balance this debt.

The funding formula for the Dedicated Schools Grant was last reviewed in 2018/19.

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