Cautious welcome for extra cash for schools

6:52pm Wednesday 7th February 2001

Education will be a top priority in Barnet Council's budget this year with more cash going directly to schools and cuts in administration costs.

Councillor Alison Moore, Labour's member for education, is expected to put plans for the 2001/2002 budget to tonight's council-in-committee meeting. These will include an increase in pupil spending of 8.2 per cent, above the five per cent national target.

Members hope this 'charm offensive' will prevent a repeat of last year when angry Barnet headteachers banded together to lobby councillors and ministers on behalf of their schools. They claimed the last budget saw them one million pounds worse off after inflation. Plans to fully fund the Government's 5.9 per cent teachers' pay award are also in the pipeline. If proposals are approved at the council's budget meeting on March 6, schools will be getting £9.9million this year above the required amount of £7.8million.

The council believes this will mean some 89 per cent of total education funding going straight to schools. Under national regulations, the maximum that Barnet Council can spend on central administration costs per student is £70. Councillor Moore is expected to cut this to £55.27.

Dr Alan Davison, the headteacher of Mill Hill High School, gave a cautious welcome to the figures. He said: "If they are fully funding the pay rise then schools should be very pleased. If they are putting in 8.2 per cent, that sounds sensible. This money is necessary. My real disappointment is that they have not been prepared to discuss this with us in deciding these figures the schools have had no say."

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