Match school funding to national average in the Vale of Glamorgan

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This petition had 961 supporters

The Issue

Children in the Vale of Glamorgan, our children, are having their life chances trodden on by political nonsense.

Our schools are funded significantly under the national average, and the basics required to give our children the education they deserve are compromised. The Vale of Glamorgan receives £606 less per pupil than the Welsh average and £1,360 less per pupil than the highest funded local authority. Head Teachers all over the Vale are letting us know the pressures they are under financially just to make ends meet. 

The First Minister, Mark Drakeford, is blaming the Vale Council. Public spats at this level are all very well as they keep our plight newsworthy. However, high profile figures arguing in the media HAS NOT resulted in more money for our schools. It seems no one wants to take responsibility. The Vale Council are able to subsidise Welsh Government  funding, but its not enough. 

We are calling for TRANSPARENCY  in the formula that decides funding amounts geographically. TRANSPARENCY in the way it is applied in the Vale of Glamorgan. A FULL REVIEW of what has been described as an outdated formula. Funding that is FIT FOR PURPOSE and in line with the NATIONAL AVERAGE to allow our children EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES. Our Head Teachers NEED the full financial support of WELSH GOVERNMENT and a SOLUTION FOCUSSED RESPONSE.  

Please sign the petition to show the First Minister we care about our children’s education. We need to get behind our Head Teachers, all school staff and our children. We cannot sit back and allow bureaucracy to stamp all over our children's future.

We need Welsh Government to take notice. 

 

avatar of the starter
Lucy JonesPetition Starter
Media enquiries

The Decision Makers

Mark Drakeford
Mark Drakeford
First Minister Wales
Responded
“Ein cyf/Our ref KW/05957/19 23 April 2019 Dear Change.org Thank you for sending the First Minister a link to the online petition regarding school funding in the Vale of Glamorgan. I am responding as Minister for Education given that the issues raised fall within my ministerial portfolio. The Welsh Government has received a high level of correspondence about this issue and the following letter has been prepared to cover the concerns raised. I fully acknowledge the real pressures that local authorities and schools are facing. Due to the UK Government’s continued austerity programme, Wales has around £800m less to spend on public services, in real terms, than we had in 2010-11. Despite this, the Welsh Government continues to take action to support budgets for local authorities in order to protect school spending. The independent Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) recently published a report stating that school funding per pupil has fallen faster in England than in Wales. Education and social services are the largest spending areas for local councils. Each Council decides their own spending priorities. School funding decisions in your area are therefore the responsibility of Vale of Glamorgan Local Authority. As Education Minister, it will not surprise you that I urge all Local Authorities to make the right decisions on behalf of local people to ensure their schools receive adequate levels of funding. Currently, the Vale of Glamorgan Council spends the least per pupil in the whole of Wales. While Local Authority budgets in England have seen significant reductions, the Welsh Government has made different decisions in order to support front line services. Even in this difficult financial climate, the Local Authority settlement represents a cash increase overall, compared to 2018/19. We have worked to ensure that no authority faces a reduction of more than 0.3%. The funding formula for Local Authorities has been created and developed in close consultation with local government and is continually reviewed through the Distribution Sub Group. The formula takes account of a wealth of information about the demographic, physical, economic and social characteristics of authorities. In the schools part of the formula, over 90% is based on data that is updated annually. The Welsh Government has previously presented local government with proposals to update the current funding formula further; however, this proposal was not pursued. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that an update of the data would benefit any one specific authority. Although the local government settlement provides the largest single contribution to local government funding, Local Authorities have a range of funding sources available to them, including specific grants and council tax. The amount of funding set aside for school budgets is for Local Authorities to determine. The school funding allocation made by Vale of Glamorgan reflects the decisions that the Council has taken in setting their budget. The School Funding (Wales) Regulations 2010 provide the framework within which Local Authorities set their funding for schools. The Regulations ensure consistency with the requirement for 70% of schools budgets to be set based on pupil numbers. Local Authorities have discretion to distribute the remaining 30% on the basis of a range of factors so that they can take account of individual school circumstances. Both the high percentage based on pupil numbers and the broad range of other factors, which can be considered in setting school budgets, help to ensure pupils are not disadvantaged and individual local needs are met. Schools have the opportunity to influence their Local Authority decisions on school budgets, by engaging in dialogue with Authorities including through their budget forum, which is required in law. Authorities must consult their schools budget forums and all schools in their area when setting or making changes to a funding formula. The main purpose of the forum is to provide all major stakeholders with an opportunity to offer advice to the local authority on school budgets in each financial year. In addition to the funding provided through the Revenue Support Grant (RSG) to Local Authorities, the Welsh Government continues to provide significant additional grant funding to support improved outcomes for learners in Wales. We recognise that to continue raising standards, our schools and teachers need support additional to the core funding we provide and the Welsh Government continues to provide significant grant funding to schools, local authorities and regional education consortia. In 2019/20, Vale of Glamorgan schools will receive more than £2.93 million through the Pupil Development Grant (PDG) which equates to more than 2,780 learners supported. To date the Vale of Glamorgan schools have received more than £15.7 million through the Pupil Development Grant. The Vale of Glamorgan has been awarded a total of £722,417 under…”
Alun Cairns MP
Alun Cairns MP
Member of Parliament
John Thomas
John Thomas
Head of VoG council
Jane Hutt
Jane Hutt
Labour AM Vale of Glam

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Petition created on 15 April 2019