Yorkshire schools could lose millions in review

SCHOOLS in Yorkshire could lose millions of pounds of funding if a Government review fails to recognise the true costs of providing education in rural areas, a senior council official has warned.

Education chiefs in North Yorkshire, already one of the worst funded authorities in the country, believe there is a risk the area's schools could lose up to 14m a year once a new system is introduced after the General Election.

Yorkshire already fares badly under existing rules. Two-thirds of councils in the region receive less than the national average level of funding per pupil.

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The situation could become even worse for some parts of the region, however, if a new funding formula fails to recognise the extra costs faced by authorities serving rural areas.

The Yorkshire Post election manifesto has called on the next Government to ensure the extra costs faced by smaller schools in sparsely populated areas are met.

Ministers have been considering creating a subsidy for small rural primary schools as part of a new funding formula. They launched a consultation on a new system before the election was called which suggested a rural subsidy could be used to allow neighbouring schools in the countryside to work together.

But campaigners in Yorkshire say this does not go far enough and it should also include extra money for small secondary schools.

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There are fears that even with the creation of a rural subsidy, schools in areas such as North Yorkshire will receive less funding. This is because the Government has ring-fenced money to ensure each council spends the same amount on its schools as it had done under a previous system.

North Yorkshire County Council's director of education services Cynthia Welbourn said: "We have traditionally funded our schools with an extra 14m on top of what the basic formula provided us with. When the current system was brought in this funding was protected and we have received this level from the Government each year.

"However if this protection goes under a new formula, there is a potential risk that North Yorkshire schools could be somewhat worse off.

"I would say it is a potential risk rather than an outright threat."

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North Yorkshire is part of the f40 group which was formed to represent the worst-funded education authorities in the country.

Under the current system most Yorkshire councils receive 2,500 less per pupil than the best funded London boroughs.

The East Riding is the worst-funded per pupil in the region and the fifth-lowest in the country, receiving 3,851.22 a head compared with a national average of 4,217.71.

It is followed by York, North Lincolnshire, Barnsley and North Yorkshire, which all receive less than 4,000 a head and are among the worst 40 funded councils in the country.

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Former Yorkshire head teacher Lindsey Wharmby, a funding consultant for f40 group, told the Yorkshire Post the current system did not reflect the true costs of providing a rural education. She has voiced fears that addressing this issue will be more difficult during a "contraction in public spending."

A spokesman for the Conservative Party said it would be reviewing school funding if it came to power as the current system was too complicated.