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School Funding Issues Thank you so much to those of you who responded to our request to write letters and who responded to the Department for Education’s consultation on school funding. Thank you to those of you who sent me copies of the replies that you received from county councillors and MPs. The debate on school funding continues both at local level, where Warwickshire County Council cabinet meets on 15th December to decide on the local funding formula for 2012/2013, and at national level, where there is currently a 16-19 Funding Formula Review. As you will see from the graph below, RHS receives a lower level of delegated funding per student than most other secondary schools in Rugby. In 2010-2011, RHS received £2,217 per student. The average for Rugby secondary schools was £2,847 per student. The County Council’s proposals to redistribute specialist funding equally between all schools will further reduce RHS’s funding. Department for Education Chart Showing Funds Delegated by the Local Authority 
Local Funding Formula Partly as a result of your intervention, Lord Hill, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools has indicated that academies will be funded on the 2011/2012 funding formula in 2012/2013 which gives another year before the changes to the local funding formula proposed by the local authority can take effect. Headteachers have succeeded in arguing that if a redistribution of specialist funding is to take place then, as the funding was originally for 11-18 provision, the reallocation should be on that basis too. This means that instead of losing £100,866 of funding, RHS is scheduled to lose £69,782. Cabinet still have to make a final decision on the local 2012/2013 funding formula. We still have time to lobby our county councillors and cabinet members to ensure that the outstanding provision that we have at RHS and which benefits a broad range of other local schools, remains in place. For contact details of cabinet members and suggestions for how to put a letter together click here. 16-19 Funding Formula Review We also need your help with the 16-19 Funding Formula Review. The consultation document proposes changes to the number of courses for which young people will be funded. One proposal is that institutions should be funded at the same rate for all full-time learners whether they take two A levels or five. This have the effect of reducing funding to schools like RHS where a significant number or students choose to study four or five A levels. There is also a proposal to remove the success factor from the funding formula. This will result in a significant reduction to schools like RHS where students normally complete and pass the courses that they start, and a diversion of that funding to institutions where that is not the case. Depending on which options are selected, the cumulative impact of the changes that are proposed could be a reduction of up to 30% in the Sixth Form Funding to high achieving schools like RHS. This reduction would be on top of changes to funding already announced. This will compromise provision and standards at all high achieving schools, not just at RHS. - For details of how you can respond to the consultation click here. Just two minutes of your time, could make all the difference to your daughter’s future and the futures of other students like her for years to come. Please encourage your daughter to respond to the consultation in her own right as well.
- Please write to your MP on this issue. For details of how to do this click here.
We are tremendously grateful for your support. Together, we can make a difference. Charlotte Marten Headteacher
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