How much additional funding are mainstream schools in affluent areas getting?
Since becoming a governor I’ve been asking for information on what additional ‘soft’ funding schools are getting. The hypothesis was that schools in richer areas are likelier to have PTAs that raise large sums of money.
Funding schools
Most mainstream school funding comes via the National Funding Formula, with schools receiving an agreed amount per pupil, a minimum of £4,655 per pupil for primary schools. Schools then try to raise any additional funds they can. This might be from renting out the school or trying to fundraise. If you have a child in school you have probably been asked to support the school financially.
Mapping funding in Haringey
I was keen to know what schools were raising across Haringey to test my hypotheses. For all 56 primary schools in Haringey, I researched who had a registered charity PTA and how much they raised for their school in the last three years. I then enlisted the support of Pete Tomlin MCIEEM to create the map below. I’m hoping it can spark a discussion on the impact of soft funding on our children’s education and how we better support schools in more deprived areas.
The funding divide in Haringey
Like many London boroughs, there is a clear wealth divide. In Haringey, this is between the West and East of the borough and this matches who has a PTA that is a registered charity. This doesn’t mean that schools without a charity PTA aren’t raising money, it is just that this is more informal. Where they are doing more organised fundraising from the community they can’t, for example, benefit from gift aid.
There were 24 registered PTAs in Haringey and the amount raised ranged from £5k to £377k over the last three years. One school in a very affluent part of London has a PTA and a separate charity that raises money for the school. They raised £554k over three years for the school. That would be game-changing money for the school where I am Chair of Governors.
How we can help schools in more deprived areas
I’ve researched Haringey but this is a challenge across all London boroughs (and beyond.) Pupil Premium should close the outcome gap for children but it feels to me that this soft funding helps maintain the disparity of outcomes.
I’m keen to hear ideas about how we address this funding divide. Here are two initial suggestions from me:
1. More support for parents/schools in setting up charity PTAs
More support could be provided to schools in more deprived areas to set up a PTA that is a registered charity. This would open access to more funding streams for schools and could help close the funding gap.
2. Targetting fundraising support for schools
Fundraising is hard. Local authorities could employ fundraisers that help schools in more deprived areas identify and bid for funding. Not all schools have parents with experience in fundraising or the contacts required to identify potential sources of income.
