My last column was published over the summer recess – I hope that you all had an enjoyable summer and were able to spend some time with your friends and family in the little good weather we had! Sticking with family, now that the schools are back, I’d like to shine a light on education. As you may know, education is at the core of my political beliefs and I believe that a good education is the key to a good life.
The Government has recently set out its decisions on the ‘national funding formula’ (NFF) for schools. The idea of the NFF, which will come into effect from April 2018, is to gradually put schools on a level playing field. Why is this necessary? The truth is that it’s difficult to provide a good education to every child when the funding available varies so much from place to place. In London, funding has been as high as £8,500 per pupil – with Cambridgeshire getting less than £4,000 per pupil. This is unfair.
The NFF will replace this outdated system that sees some parts of the country get a lot more for no justifiable reason and will ensure that the money spent in our schools will be distributed according to the individual needs and characteristics of every school. This can only be a good thing.
Schools that were less well funded under previous Governments will see their funding increased significantly. This is good news for us here in North East Hampshire – and it comes with the assurance that no school will see a decrease in funding. Of course, some elsewhere are unhappy because they will see much smaller increases after years of very generous settlements. This is equitable as they’ve been able to do things that our local schools have not for quite some time. Gradually working towards an equilibrium has to be the right thing to do.
The numbers speak for themselves. At the election, I’d secured £1.1m more per annum for local schools – and was working hard for more. After many hours pouring over statistics, speaking to the County Council, and meeting my Parliamentary colleagues, schools in North East Hampshire have now been awarded £3.4m more per annum. To put this in context, some schools, such as Elvetham Heath Primary School, should see their funding increased by a massive 15 per cent, when the funding formula was fully implemented.
It is now critical that Hampshire County Council gets on and implements the NFF in full, as quickly as possible. I have confidence that it will and this is great news, because it will help to ensure that every child in North East Hampshire can get the high quality education that they deserve.
If you wish to find out more about the NFF and how it will affect your local school, full details are available on the GOV.UK website or drop me an email if that’s easier.
I do hope that we might meet at one of my ‘Tell Ranil’ Q&A sessions around the constituency in the coming months but, if you would like to contact me on any issue, please email: [email protected] or write to me at: House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.