A CAMPAIGN group and city headteacher has welcomed more money for schools, but say the "core issue has not been addressed".

The government has laid down new legislation in parliament with a commitment that every secondary school has been guaranteed at least £5,000 per pupil and every primary school at least £3,750 per pupil next year.

Greg McClarey, headteacher of Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College, said: "More money is always welcome but the core issue of fairer funding for Worcestershire schools has still not been addressed.

"The fact remains that a child in Worcester is worth less in school funding terms than a child in many other parts of the country.

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"This means that schools are still not operating on a level playing field with other schools nationally.

"Worcestershire schools do an amazing job with the money they receive but could provide even more for our children if the funding was in line with other parts of the UK."

James McInnes, chairman of f40 fair funding campaign group, added: "We believe that every school should receive enough money per pupil to actually run a school, and at present that isn’t happening.

“We do appreciate the additional funding for both secondary and primary schools, but, unfortunately, the budgets they receive are not keeping pace with demand and increased costs, such as rises to teacher salaries and pensions.

“We’re pleased that government has now acknowledged that school budgets have been unfairly distributed for many years, with some schools receiving far less per pupil than others, and is now beginning the process of levelling up funding by introducing these minimum per pupil figures.

“Of course, we agree that schools should receive extra funding for deprivation and realistic area living costs, but the current difference in funding is too great, with some schools receiving a variety of different add-ons. It’s good that government is now looking at this, but it will take time to completely close the gap.

“We also appreciate the £780m in extra funding for SEND, but again this area needs more funding in order to meet the growing demand. Many local authorities have huge deficit budgets for High Needs that will only continue to grow unless the issue is tackled. We believe the structure of the SEND system needs fundamental change, as additional funds on their own won’t deal with the problem.

“We will continue to work with the Department for Education to make the case for fairer and increased funding for schools, and to work towards the introduction of an on-going rolling three-year funding plan so that schools can always plan ahead.”