In a letter to the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, Lambeth Council has called for reform of the “National Funding Formula”, which it claims acts against schools in urban areas.
Lambeth’s Cabinet member for Children, Families and Education, Councillor Ben Kind said the current funding formula “is particularly damaging to inner-city areas as it doesn’t base its funding on need, which in the past helped Lambeth schools change from worst-performing to some of the best”.
Due to the increase in cost of living, Brexit, and a one-third drop in birth rates since 2016, fewer children are going to school in Lambeth and other inner-London boroughs. Schools are funded by central government based on the number of students they have, resulting in most schools receiving less money every year. Half-full classrooms can leave schools with large debts, which can affect their resources and the education they offer.
Lambeth Council has been working in partnership with schools to reduce published admission numbers to manage these significant pressures. However, these changes haven’t slowed down, which now means more urgent action is required. In 2013 there were 3,243 children starting primary schools in Lambeth – now, for 2024, there are 2,324, a decrease of almost 30%. This has left over 529 vacancies in reception class alone, the equivalent to 18 empty classrooms.
Lambeth Council has been consulting with schools and our community to address the impacts of falling primary school pupil numbers and the huge challenges this creates for the borough. The consultation, which closes on August 18, gives the community the chance to have their say on the council’s proposals. A formal consultation is scheduled for September, with the council considering final proposals in November.
Councillor Ben Kind, Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education, said: “Lambeth schools have shown extraordinary resilience despite being hamstrung by 14 years of central government austerity. These policies have left our schools battling funding cuts and structural inequalities. Despite this, here in Lambeth, our schools have still managed to raise standards and recover from the pandemic.
Schools are the bedrock of our community and crucial to our children’s future. The newly elected government is committed to righting these wrongs, providing the resources and support our schools desperately need. We need the government to act now to give us greater flexibilities on school funding and additional financial support for schools in need – so we can ensure every child in Lambeth receives the excellent education they deserve and to make Lambeth the best place for children to grow up.”
The council urged the government to consider changes that recognises the impact of falling rolls on the viability of schools in inner-London boroughs like Lambeth and how they could be reflected in school funding changes to help them better meet the needs of their pupils.
The letter asked the government to expand and give greater flexibility around the falling rolls fund, which provides short term support for schools with falling pupil numbers, allowing more schools experiencing falling rolls to receive the funding in addition to funding for schools that are in deficit.
As part of a review of government policy, the council has urged government to revisit how school deficits are managed when they academise, as currently the debt passes onto the local authority to pay. Academies have positively inputted into our current pupil place planning process, but Lambeth also called on the government to formally widen councils’ role to include academies in future pupil place planning.
