September 30, 2022 12.00 pm This story is over 21 months old

Funding for Lincolnshire schools lagging behind national average

Secondary pupils will each get £326 less

| Photo: Stock image

Government funding for Lincolnshire schools is still failing to keep up with the national average.

The gap is widening for both primary and secondary pupils, figures for coming school years show.

However, funding for younger students is slowly caching up.

For the 2023/24 school year, the government has announced each Lincolnshire primary school pupil will be allocated £4933, compared to an average of £5014 in England.

This is a deficit of £81 – up from £51 in the 2022/23 school year.

However, changes to the funding means it has moved slightly up the national ranks.

Secondary school pupils will receive £6,216, around £330 less than the English average of £6,542.

The gap has widened slightly since the previous year, although the county has remained in the same position in national tables.

How much funding Lincolnshire schools will receive per pupil | Photo: Lincolnshire County Council

A Lincolnshire County Council report into the funding says there are “concerns regarding the financial position of schools when considering the proposed pay awards, utility costs and general inflationary increases.”

Students with disabilities or learning difficulties who are classified as ‘high needs’ will receive an uplift of just under £60 each.

There is growing demand for specialist support for young people.

The report comments that the high needs funding will “require careful and prudent management going forward.”

The funding challenges will be discussed at a virtual meeting of the Lincolnshire Schools Forum on October 6.