A parent who has recently moved 25 minutes from Mile End in London to Brentwood in Essex might be concerned to find out that their child’s new school, on average, will receive £2,619 less per pupil in government funding compared to their old school in the capital.

Does this sound odd? There are countless numbers of discrepancies and quirks like this within the way schools are currently funded.

Even the funding differences inside the capital are hard to fathom. Schools in Hackney, an inner London borough, receive £6,847 per pupil on average. Schools in Waltham Forest, an outer London borough, which borders Hackney, receive £5,271 per pupil.

How much funding your local school gets is a postcode lottery, even within London.

However, it is county schools that suffer the most adverse impacts from this funding methodology that is now 12 years old. Analysis from the County Councils Network (CCN) shows that last year, counties received 43 per cent less funding on average per student compared to councils in inner London. This is inexplicable.

Rural schools, largely located in county areas, are the ones that are teetering more closely to the precipice; facing acute funding pressures due to location, smaller pupil numbers, and retention of teachers.

Funding inequalities between schools is an issue that is becoming more mainstream - in July, 4,000 headteachers from 17 different counties wrote to their local MPs to outline the impact this was having on their schools.

Despite this, 89 per cent of schools overseen by county authorities are rated “good” or above by Ofsted; not an insignificant achievement considering funding discrepancies. Clearly, our headteachers and teachers are doing an excellent job at the coalface.

Cuts beginning to bite

However, as teachers on the frontline are well aware, budgetary cuts and an unfair method of funding county schools are beginning to bite in the classroom. Last year, the National Audit Office estimated schools will have to generate £3 billion worth of savings by 2020, due to rising pupil numbers and real-terms cuts in funding.

That’s why CCN’s recent post-election manifesto, A New Deal for Counties, put schools funding and reform at the heart of our offer to work with the government to deliver a fairer deal for our areas.

Thankfully, the government agrees, calling current methodology “outdated and opaque”, promising to rebalance funding. Perhaps due to the political landscape of the time, details on a final funding formula were postponed until September.

The initial formula - while on the right track - did have some issues that need ironing out. Indeed, a CCN survey of county cabinet members for education showed that 79 per cent of them felt the initial formula’s impact would be negative.

Concerns were raised that over 1,000 rural schools would actually lose funding under the new methodology. Considering their aforementioned pressures, this could threaten their existence in some places. Many county leaders felt that was unacceptable.

To that end, we want ministers to set out a core baseline of funding that cannot be dropped under; a baseline of money that will allow each school to maintain acceptable teacher-pupil ratios, and, by extension, ensure their future sustainability.

Before the summer recess, the government announced £1.3 billion in schools funding, taken from elsewhere in the education budget, and starting in 2018-19. Justine Greening said this would provide at least £4,800 per pupil on average.

Clearly this is a step in the right direction, but does it go far enough?

If all county schools were brought up to that average, they would still receive over £1,400 less per pupil than in those in the best-funded settings. For some big secondary schools, this figure will run into millions. Therein lies the answer to the question above.

When the government outlines its final national funding formula, it must go further than this. It must set out a clear timetable for delivering a “fair” formula that reflects the true cost of providing a high-quality education, regardless of location, and that makes some real inroads in bridging the gap.

Creating a fair formula

At the same time, a basic uplift in per pupil funding will not deliver a truly “fair” formula and certainly would not wipe out historical inequities. It is vital that the additional needs funding weightings are adjusted and targeted to address attainment gaps between county pupils and urban ones, such as those that exist for children in need and in receipt of free school meals. Figures from 2016-17 show that 30 per cent of pupils receiving free school meals in counties achieved 5 GCSE A* to Cs, while half of those pupils in London obtained those grades.

Just 15 per cent of those in counties receiving free school meals go into further education, according to latest figures. The number in London is 40 per cent.

More must be done to bridge these clear gaps. If these inconsistencies are allowed to continue moving forwards then there could be long-lasting effects for children in county areas and the economy as a whole. CCN is working with Localis to propose reforms to further education; the report will be published soon.

Other issues persist in counties. County leaders are becoming increasingly concerned about funding for school transport, whether that be coaches or more specialist vehicles for disabled students. Rural areas are more sparsely populated, so therefore the financial burden is bigger.

And finally, the rise of academies poses challenges. Less than one in 10 county schools were academies in 2011. This year, it is 38 per cent. Councils do not have powers to force academies to expand where there is a population increase. With counties’ population predicted to swell over the next decade, particularly in the Home Counties, councils must have powers to implore academies to expand where there is clear extra demand.

In rebalancing funding, there are always going to be winners and losers. In an ideal world, no-one would lose out.

But there is a clear imperative for change; we cannot continue with a system whereby a county school 20 miles down the road from an urban one is receiving millions less in funding.

The government recognise this, and county leaders want to work collaboratively with ministers to deliver a new methodology rooted in fairness. We await this month’s announcement and implore the government to be bold.

Fairly-funded schools will go a long way to ensuring the government fulfils its promise of an “economy that works for everyone”.

Ian Hudspeth is education spokesman for the County Councils Network and leader of Oxfordshire County Council

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