Cheshire East secondary schools will benefit from significant additional funding over the next two years, with per-pupil spending set to increase to at least £4,800 in 2019-20, in an announcement welcomed by Macclesfield’s MP, David Rutley.
The confirmation of an extra £1.3 billion for the national schools budget by 2019-20 was given to Parliament in an oral statement by the Rt Hon Justine Greening MP, the Secretary of State for Education, on Monday 17th July. The plans will mean an increase in the basic minimum amount that every secondary school pupil will receive, as well as protected funding for pupils with high needs. This will ensure that every local authority is in a position to give schools a cash increase through the new national funding formula, which is due to be introduced from 2018-19. Details of per-pupil funding for primary schools will be published in the autumn.
Ahead of the announcement being made, David organised a meeting with the Secretary of State, and subsequently led a delegation of local MPs, to discuss the historic under-funding of schools in the area, and school budget issues more widely. At that meeting, which was also attended by neighbouring MPs Fiona Bruce, Esther McVey, Mary Robinson, and Will Wragg, David asked the Secretary of State to clarify how her announcement would impact local schools, and received assurances that all schools across Cheshire East would benefit, and that the transition to a new fair national funding formula for schools would also be supported.
Speaking after the announcement, David said, “I am very pleased to see this significant increase in per-pupil funding, which will be a real boost to secondary schools in Macclesfield and Poynton. Along with other local MPs, I have been actively campaigning for fairer funding for our area, and this is a positive step forward in addressing the concerns of local schools and parents. I will continue to work with our schools to seek further details on the final funding allocation, and also to keep local parents updated on this vital issue in the months ahead.”