Shropshire schools in £27.5 million cash gap shock
Shropshire's schools would be £27.5 million better off a year if they were judged using the same funding formula as major cities such as Birmingham, it has been revealed.
The lack of funding for the county has contributed to widening gaps in the performance of disadvantaged and other pupils in Shropshire, according to a Shropshire Council report.
Gaps in attainment at Key Stage 4 and Early Years foundation stage increased from 2013 to 2015 and were greater than the national average last year.
The report says that funding for the county's schools in 2015/16 remained in the lowest third of local authorities across the country and the gap between funding for Shropshire and the top third funded local authorities was "substantial".
It states that if schools and academies in the county were funded on the formula for Birmingham they would be £27.5 million better off per year.
The report will go before a meeting of Shropshire Council's children and young people's scrutiny committee next week.
Shropshire's MPs have called for fairer funding for the county's schoolssaying it will help close the gaps and help disadvantaged pupils.
Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski said it was an "outrage" that some children in Birmingham receive up to 75 per cent more than children in Shropshire.
He said: "This leads to many of our schools not having the same level of equipment that they do in Birmingham."
Mr Kawczynski said he was one of a group of about 30 MPs who werelobbying the government on this issue to get the funding mechanism changed. He said more funding for schools in the county would help disadvantaged pupils "massively".
Mr Kawczynski said: "I have seen examples of children with special needs who have a real struggle. The additional care and support just isn't there because the schools have a shortage of cash."
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan launched consultation to replace the current system in March and the funding shake-up will also remove local authorities from the process, with cash going directly to heads.
North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson has also called the current funding policy for schools "unfair", adding: "The money has to be distributed fairly."
He said an official from Shropshire Council was working with Communities Secretary Greg Clark on the issue.
Other factors mentioned in the report which influence pupil achievement and gaps in performance include overall levels of achievement, the size of schools compared to the national average and the ethnic backgrounds of disadvantaged pupils.
The report says: "Raising the achievement of disadvantaged pupils remains a priority for Shropshire because over time the gaps between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and their peers has been wider than the national gaps, especially at the end of Key Stage 4."
Shropshire Council's children and young people's scrutiny committee will meet on May 23.
