Councils have hit back after a think-tank claimed local authorities were diverting school funding away from disadvantaged pupils. A new report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies claimed councils in England allocate only half the extra resources given by the Government to help disadvantaged children to the schools they actually attend. According to the report, primary schools receive an average of £3,670 in funding for each pupil who is eligible for free school meals, but they should be getting £5,590 if the school was given the entire premium which Whitehall gives them. On average, secondary schools get £5,520 for each low-income pupil, whereas they should get £7,120. But a LGA spokesman said government rules on school funding were to blame. ‘Local authorities have increasingly had their hands tied by government ringfenced funding,' said the spokesman. ‘The ringfenced dedicated schools grant which gives out money to local authorities makes it more difficult for authorities to properly integrate funding for schools and children's services and runs against the Every Child Matters agenda.' ‘Councils are substantially constrained by government rules, such as the minimum funding guarantee, which says that every school must have a minimum per pupil increase,' said the spokesman. ‘Due to this, many authorities have found they cannot pass funding to more deprived pupils.' Liberal Democrat children's spokesman David Laws called for a change in way schools are funded. ‘We need a fairer way to make sure that extra spending is getting through to those schools which most need the money,' said Mr Laws. ‘This research supports the case for introducing a pupil premium to bring the funding of the disadvantaged youngsters up to the level of the private sector,' he added.
