Council call for fairer funding for the town’s schools

WARRINGTON Borough Council is to be urged to call for fairer funding for the town’s schools.
A motion to be put to a meeting of the full council on Monday will call on the leader, Cllr Russ Bowden, to write to the Secretary of State for Education asking for a reversal of the “real term” cuts in funding for children with an education health and care plan (EHCP).
The motion will be put by Cllr Rebecca Knowles (pictured) , seconded by Cllr Diana Friend.
They say that despite recent funding announcements from Government, 83 per cent of schools will have less real-terms funding in 2020 than in 2015.
Nationally, there is still estimated to be a £1 billion shortfall in funding
In Warrington, 67 of the borough’s 81 schools will have suffered cuts to per-pupil funding between 2015 and 2020.
On average, Warrington schools have £173 less funding per pupil as a result of this reduced funding.
The motion proposed by the two councillors would state that the council believes real-terms reductions in funding represent an unacceptable risk to providing every child with the education they deserve.
Government should commit to funding in future years which will, as a minimum, reverse the real-terms cuts imposed on schools.