Mrs Spelman and Mr Knight took a cross-party group of councillors to see education minister Nick Gibb to put the case loud and clear for an extra £6m a year in funding for Solihull schools. Currently, Solihull is the fourth lowest funded borough in England and Wales, with just £4188 paid by central government per year, per pupil. By contrast, Birmingham is allotted around £5218 per year, per pupil.
The purpose of the campaign is to secure extra funding for Solihull schools by ensuring that the 6000 pupils that come to Solihull from Birmingham to study each day automatically bring with them the higher pupil allowance paid to Birmingham. Solihull Council is also part of the campaigning group f40 which represent the lowest funded education authorities in England; working with local MPs and councillors to change the formula through which government allocates funding to local authorities and schools.
Education minister Nick Gibb was impressed that Solihull Borough has the best results for phonics (a method for teaching the reading and writing of English) despite having three of the most deprived wards in England. The minister now plans to visit the area to see the success story for himself.
Julian Knight said: “The discussions were excellent and I felt the education minister really listened to our case. We are not asking for equality of funding with Birmingham, only that the 6000 pupils coming from our bigger neighbour bring with them £5218 each and not £4188. This will bring in vital extra cash and ensure that our schools can retain experienced staff and maintain their high standards."
Caroline Spelman commented: “I have fought long and hard for fairer funding for our schools. The current system disadvantages schools in Solihull Borough, and I am glad we had been able to talk productively with a Minister about redressing this problem. Although this area will benefit from additional funds allocated by the government, there is still more work to do to ensure we get the best deal for local schools and their pupils.”