Twigg promises schools financial security
Schools would get three-year budgets and greater income security, under new plans announced by Education Minister Stephen Twig.
The consultation paper has been welcomed by teaching unions, but the Conservatives say the proposals offer only “phoney freedom”.
From April 2006 the Government intends all maintained schools to have three-year budgets – linked to pupil numbers – with a guaranteed minimum increase each year.
School funding grants to local authorities would be ring-fenced with the DfES budget, rather than coming from the general local government funding pot, and there would be a single ‘standards grant’ to streamline the current standards-related funding system.
The Education Minister said the proposals would give schools greater freedom and security in running their affairs.
Mr Twigg said: “Our Five-Year Strategy for Children and Learners set out a vision of greater freedom and independence for schools to run their own affairs, with clear and simple lines of accountability, the security of three-year budgets and greater discretion over how they can spend their standards-related funding.
“The new school funding arrangements will realise this vision, providing streamlined, secure and predictable funding arrangements to allow schools to focus on raising standards and improved outcomes for every single pupil. They will also enable schools to plan ahead to make the most effective use of their resources to secure better value for money.”
The consultation on the plans runs until May 13.
David Hart, general secretary of the teaching union NAHT, said that schools would welcome the security of three-year budgets, which would bring “much needed stability into the budget setting process.”
He added: “Of course, three-year budgets will depend crucially for their success on adequate year-by-year funding increases. But a ring-fenced education grant, which stops local authorities leaking money into other services and makes sure that every authority spends every penny it should on schools, has to be the right way forward.”
But, Tim Collins, Shadow Education Secretary, said that the freedoms offered by Labour were illusions.
He said: “In their eight years in office, Labour have made school funding streams more complex than ever and have steadily taken autonomy away from heads. Now, as in so many areas, they want people to believe that in their third term they would behave entirely differently from how they have acted in their first two. No-one should fall for this.”
Mr Collins said the Conservatives would give head teachers complete control over financial decision making – including capital spending, give schools the final say on admissions and expulsions, and allow them to turn away children expelled from other schools.
