Dear

As a parent of a child in a Gloucestershire secondary school academy I am asking for answers to questions concerning the unfair funding of my child’s education. 

According to local and national calculations my child, in an academy, will receive only £156 extra in funding for services which were previously provided by the local authority.  This compares with a student in Dorset who would receive £262, Somerset £319 and Shropshire £232.  It appears to me that these areas are very similar in nature to Gloucestershire so I would like to know how this funding difference can be justified.

Please answer the following questions:

Why has information from Gloucestershire County Council resulted in my child being so disadvantaged in comparison to others in similar areas across the country?

Why have local politicians not been instructed to explain to the parents of Gloucestershire why the funding of these extra services is so poor in comparison to other similar counties?

Why, when officials saw such a disparity, did they not intervene to secure equal opportunities for my child and not have them penalised simply because of where they live and due to the whims of the local council?

Why, when this injustice is acknowledged, does the Government not show some leadership by, for instance, allocating all schools in the bottom-funded 30 local authorities, the average of those 30 authorities i.e. approximately £250?

The situation for my child will be made worse next year when the 1.5% cut for 11-16 pupils and the 3% cut for 16-19 are implemented.  As this is being done across the country, why cannot the payment given to academies for the services previously provided by local authorities be the same across the country?

I look forward to receiving answers to these questions which will have a significant impact on how we as a family vote in both national and local elections in the future.

Yours sincerely

 

 

to

Rt. Hon Michael Gove MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA                                                          
Cllr Mark Hawthorne Gloucestershire County Council Shire Hall Westgate Street Gloucester GL1 2TG     
[Your local MP] House of Commons London SW1A 0AA