Bournemouth and the South West are lose out to LEA's
in the North

In 1997 Bournemouth schools received about the same funding per pupil as Middlesbrough, Stockton, Hartlepool and Leicester. Today these LEA's receive £600 more per pupil more.

Bournemouth has fared so badly under this Government it has fallen 75 places in the Department for Education and Skills League table. It is now hard to find a school, primary or secondary which has not been forced to cut staff in order to stay in budget.

Funding Crisis
To compound matters, schools are obliged to meet improvements and targets after OFSTED school inspections, whilst at the same time, told to trim their budgets by the LEA.

The Government argues that funding for Bournemouth has increased, but not nearly enough to match the increased costs in national insurance, gas and electricity bills, insurance cover for trips as well as to pay for library books and school furniture which has not been replaced for years.

Aside from the blatant redirection of funds to the North of England, Bournemouth schools suffer due to the unfairness of the Government's complex funding formula which places too much emphasis on the numbers of school meals and the size of the education authority.

Tobias Ellwood MP has written to the Schools Minister Jacqui Smith MP requesting an urgent meeting to review Bournemouth's situation in order to avoid a funding crisis next year when many schools are likely to go into the red.