MP welcomes fairer funding for Shropshire pupils

The county’s education allocation is set to be increased by £8.9 million.

Daniel Kawczynski MP has been pressing the Government to address the disparity of funding Shropshire pupils received, which was based on historical data that was out of date and no longer reflected pupils’ needs.

These arrangements meant schools in Shropshire have been historically underfunded for years. Per pupil funding in the county has been consistently well below that of nearby areas, hindering schools and teachers from ensuring the county’s children get the best possible education.

Today’s announcement however sets out funding per pupil for 2015/16 in Shropshire of £4,368. This is an increase of £256 (6.2%) per pupil as a result of an £8.9m increase across the county.

Reacting to this statement, Daniel Kawczynski said: "This is a most welcome announcement which starts to address the historical underfunding that Shropshire’s schools have endured over many years. After hearing countless stories of how this underfunding adversely affected our Shropshire Children, I have long pressed the case for fairer funding with the Prime Minister and the Education Secretary, as well as bringing a number of Shropshire teachers to Westminster to meet with Minsters and Education Officials. I would also like to commend the hard work the F40 group, Shropshire Schools funding forum and Shropshire Council have done over the years to push for this change.

"I am delighted therefore that the Government has listened to these pleas for Shropshire’s case, and has given us the 7th largest percentage increase in per pupil funding across the Country.

"This is a huge step towards fairer funding for our Shropshire pupils, making sure their hard working teachers have adequate resources to give them the education they deserve. I look forward to seeing the benefit this increase in funding will have in our county’s schools."