DETERMINED cash campaigners on behalf of Worcestershire schools - that have languished near the bottom of the national funding tables for years - have come up with a new plan of attack. Dan Kendrick takes a look at funding proposal the county is keen to champion.

WHICHEVER way you look at the figures - 145th out of 150 LEAs, 32nd out of 34 shire counties and £390 per pupil per year below the average - it does not make good reading.

Parent-power campaigns have taken mothers and fathers to councils, MPs and then Westminster, while headteachers have also made their point to the educational top brass.

Still the purse strings have remained double-knotted against the nimble fingers of Worcestershire's schools.

After protests outside Parliament and fury when David Miliband snubbed an independent report, which agreed there was "discrimination" against Worcestershire, all went quiet on the funding front.

But for Worcestershire's Parents Forum, some of the county's most vociferous education campaigners, the time has not been idly spent.

The F40 group - made up of the 40 lowest funded LEAs - agreed an alternative formula was needed. They turned to financial experts in East Riding, Yorkshire, who produced a system which Worcestershire was keen to take up.

In keeping with the group's busy research, the system is "activity based". It offers:

n Precise calculations based on need rather than general trends.

Opportunities to test budget models for LEAs.

Flexibility to test alternative school budget options.

Capabilities to adjust calculations for different sized schools and areas.

The system allows each pupil, class, school or LEA to work out exactly how much they are "worth" without the broad brushstrokes of the current, complicated system.

It is hoped the new model, which does away with unpopular add-ons such as Area Cost Adjustment, will produce the central element of F40's campaign for fairer funding.

Under the present system, each pupil attracts a basic amount of funding for the LEA with extra funding depending on "sparsity", ethnicity and deprivation in the area.

However, some authorities bizarrely receive cash for being both deprived and wealthy, while Worcestershire consistently misses out on both counts.

The Government will review the current formula in April 2006 and the F40 group hopes its system will be ready to be applied nationally from then on.

"We think it will be fairer for primary and secondary education," said Adrian Hardman, Worcestershire County Cabinet member for finance.

"In my opinion, the great mistake the Government made with the current formula is that it didn't actually try it on real schools and pupils.

"So we are making sure we go about this the right way by going to East Riding to put the facts and figures in."

Officers from the county council are travelling to Yorkshire in the next six weeks - and hopes are very high.

"If it works, it will be the model the F40 group - all 40 LEAs - puts forward to the Government," said Mr Hardman.

"We can say to the Government here's a model that's fairer and actually works. Please give it serious consultation.

"The latest figures suggest the rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer. The Government has it wrong and this is a serious alternative."

The results of all the trials will be available at an F40 meeting on Saturday, January 8, in Chester.

The F40 group will then campaign to have the model accepted by the Government in the run up to agreeing the new funding settlement for 2006 to 2009.

No need to be anxious

SCHOOLS which admit pupils with special educational needs do not have lower attainment as a result, a group of researchers claim.

A Department for Education and Skills study, carried out by a team from the universities of Manchester and Newcastle, found only "a very small and negative" relationship.

Other factors - such as socio-economic status, gender, ethnicity and mother tongue - seemed "much more significant", they claimed.

The report concluded that schools should not feel anxious about becoming more inclusive, but should monitor the effects with care.

Take A-levels earlier

A-LEVELS should be taken earlier so university places are based on achievement rather than predicted grades, a new report will say.

Most applicants to universities are given offers based on expected grades, which are confirmed when results come out in August.

A report for the Secondary Heads Association, being published next week, proposes sitting exams earlier and speeding up marking to allow later applications. It will say results should be out by mid-July, allowing students to make two university choices - rather than up to six currently - giving tutors more time to look at candidates.

Post-qualification applications could be in place by 2008, according to the report.