Bedford schools to receive more money per pupil this year

Schools in Bedford will get more money for their pupils in this academic year, new figures show.

However, experts have warned many schools in England will still be left short of funds as the education system's budget increase has not kept up with inflation.

Department for Education figures show Bedford schools will have an average budget of £5,082 per pupil in the new 2023-24 academic year – an increase of 5.7 per cent from £4,809 the previous year.

Inflation stood at 6.3 per cent in the 12 months to August. The Association of School and College Leaders expressed concerns the “financial situation will continue to be extremely challenging.”

Julia Harnden, funding specialist at the ASCL, said: “While school funding will increase by around 6.8 per cent in 2023-24, this is against a background of very high inflation – which peaked at 11.1 per cent last October on the Consumer Price Index measure – and cuts to real-term per-pupil funding of 9 per cent between 2010 and 2019.”

Budgets varied widely across England, with schools in inner London having the most money allocated per child – £6,559, while those in the East of England will only have an average budget of £4,980.

Joe Hallgarten, CEO of the Centre for Education and Youth, said: “While many regional disparities in school spending need exploring and addressing, it is more urgent to ensure that those schools whose pupils face multiple disadvantages including poverty are provided with greater resources to recruit the best teachers and offer other support for their young people.”

In Bedford, schools will have a total budget of £204 million. Of this, £3.2 million is allocated to special education needs support, which includes services for visual, hearing and physical impairment, specific learning difficulties such as speech, language and communication, as well as severe learning difficulties and autism.

Another £6 million will go towards funding for high needs places, which enables those who due to exclusion, illness, or other reasons, cannot receive their education in mainstream schools, to fully participate in education and learning.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “School funding in England will be at its highest level in history reaching over £59.6 billion next year, as measured by the IFS.”