Rob Wilson MP welcomed a delegation of lead councillors from Wokingham Borough Council to Westminster On Tuesday 18 April for a meeting he had arranged with Schools Minister Nick Gibb MP.
The group included Cllr Charlotte Haitham-Taylor Executive Member for Children's Services, Cllr Richard Dolinski, Deputy Executive Member for Children’s Services, and Cllr Keith Baker, Leader of the Council.
Rob said: “This is the second meeting I’ve organised this year for a delegation from Reading East to meet the Minister for Schools – following the meeting for head teachers in February.
“Once again the Minister demonstrated clearly the Government’s ongoing commitment to engage with and act upon concerns raised on behalf of my constituents. The lead councillors were able to highlight a number of important issues, including fairer funding for schools in Woodley and Earley, and the recruitment and retention of the very best and brightest teachers.
“Achieving my ambition of delivering an excellent education for every pupil in Reading East can only be realised through sustained and constructive dialogue between all those with a stake in improving the life chances of our children and young people. Lead councillors in Wokingham are equally supportive of this collective approach and will no doubt be reassured following a very positive meeting."
Lead Conservative councillors have said that the Government has “heard our concerns” following a meeting with the Schools Minister on the funding of Wokingham Borough schools.
Cllr Charlotte Haitham Taylor, Executive Member for Children’s Services, stated that there was a “positive” discussion with Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State for Schools, who has “recognised the unique position of schools in the Borough”.
The councillors expressed their concerns that the proposed National Funding Formula will have an impact on the Borough’s schools if their overall position of historic poor funding is not addressed first and foremost. Councillors spoke to the Minister about the Borough's very localised issues and what the Government can do to ease the pressure on budgets.
The effect on schools of high costs associated with housing, staffing, and a mobile workforce were raised, as well as how the Council continues to address the need for increased school places.
Under the proposed National Funding Formula some schools in the borough would benefit from up to a 3% increase in funding, although some would see a reduction of 1.5%. The Council will be investing an extra £1.8million in education services for 2017/18 and this fiunding will support school improvement services which help to retain the quality of teaching and learning.
However, comparisons to other local authorities across the country show that Wokingham Borough's schools are the lowest funded for the Dedicated Schools Grant – this is the money provided by Central Government for schools.
Despite this, Cllr Haitham Taylor emphasised the high level of attainment by the Borough’s schools, and noted that 90% of primary schools and 89% of secondary schools are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted.
Cllr Haitham Taylor said: “Our meeting with the Minister was the beginning of a more constructive dialogue around the very local issues our schools and parents are facing and the proposed National Funding Formula.
“The Minister heard and understood our concerns, and has promised to take these on board. He has also accepted the need for a separate pot of money for funding the set-up costs associated with starting up new schools. This is something that I have championed with the Department for Education for several years now, so this is encouraging news and a great victory for the work we have been doing here in this Borough.
“Wokingham schools continue to have high attainment and a fantastic reputation locally – however, the challenging budget pressures facing those schools could put that success at risk.”
Cllr Baker added: “At the last Full Council meeting, we discussed school funding, and it was clear that there is cross-party support for ensuring that our schools get the funding they need.
“I acknowledge the support from the Liberal Democrats for this meeting, and it is clear that they articulated similar concerns to ours.
“There is still more work to do, but I believe that the Minister recognises our situation, and we will continue the discussion with him and the Department for Education on what more can be done to improve the situation.”
Photo - Rob and WBC lead councillors met with Nick Gibb MP