SCHOOLS on the Isle of Wight are set to see a funding increase of 3.2 per cent under a new funding system announced by education secretary Justine Greening today (Thursday).
The increase is the equivalent of an extra £2.1 million over two years.
According to the Department for Education, the new funding formula is based on the individual needs of schools following 26,000 responses to consultations and the announcement in July that schools would receive an additional £1.3 billion.
Ms Greening said: "Standards are rising across our school system and a fairer funding formula will ensure we can build on that success. It will replace the outdated funding system which saw our children have very different amounts invested in their education purely because of where they were growing up. That was unacceptable and we have now made school funding fairer between schools for the first time in decades.
"It's a long overdue reform and our £1.3 billion extra funding means every school can gain."
The formula will come into effect in 2018 and will mean:
• an increase in the basic amount allocated for every pupil;
• A minimum per pupil funding level for both secondaries and primaries to target the lowest funded schools;
• A minimum cash increase for every school of one per cent per pupil by 2019-20, with the most underfunded schools seeing rises of three per cent per pupil in 2018-19 and 2019-20
• A £110,000 lump sum for every school to help with fixed costs, and an additional £26 million to rural and isolated schools to help them manage their unique challenges