Wigan schools to be stripped of half a million pounds of funding

Pupils in Wigan are set to miss out on half a million pounds worth of government funding according to the council.

Schools across Wigan Borough will miss out on more than £500k of funding, due to the way the government allocates money for disadvantaged children.

Publicly funded schools in England get extra money from the Government to help them improve the attainment of their disadvantaged pupils, it's called the Pupil Premium.

It amounts to £1,345 per year for every eligible primary age pupil and £955 for every eligible secondary age pupil.

Previously, the government has based the funding on the data they collect in the January census, however, for the 2021/22 financial year this funding will be based on the October 2020 census of pupils.

The council say, as a result, schools with children who have become eligible for this funding during the pandemic will not receive any additional funding for another whole year.

They add that the move leaves Wigan’s schools down £586,000 this financial year - £479,000 for primary and £107,000 for secondary schools.

Councillor Jenny Bullen, the cabinet member for children and young people at Wigan Council, said: “The impact of this calculation will be felt in the most deprived areas including Wigan.

"This move does not reflect the levelling up agenda and will only widen the gap between the most deprived and the most affluent areas."

"The pandemic has left many facing financial difficulties, with lots of families losing their income and struggling to put food on the table. Our children deserve and need this additional support.”

"The impact of funding will be felt in the more deprived areas. The estimated overall impact across Greater Manchester is £8,674m."

In a statement to us, a spokesperson for the Department for Education said:

“We have committed to an ambitious, long-term education recovery plan, including an investment to date of over £3bn and a significant expansion of our tutoring programme, to support children and young people to make up for learning lost during the pandemic.”

On the Department for Education's website they also add:

"This change brings the pupil premium in line with how the rest of the core schools’ budget is calculated and will provide both schools and DfE with greater certainty around future funding levels earlier in the year."

"Per-pupil funding rates will be the same as in 2020 to 2021."

"Total pupil premium funding is expected to increase to more than £2.5 billion in 2021 to 2022 as more children have become eligible for free school meals as a result of the impact of the pandemic."

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