How much more should London schools be paid under the new National Funding Formula to compensate for the higher salaries teachers working in the Capital are paid? Interestingly, that issue didn’t appear to have surfaced during last week debate in the House of Commons on a Labour motion about school funding and the new National Funding Formula. https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-04-25/debates/0A24031C-1B47-47DA-9682-5ED62B7AB09C/SchoolFunding
The salary differential is greatest for new teachers and smallest, at least in percentage terms, for the highest paid head teachers – CEOs of Academy Trusts don’t have a pay scale – although in cash terms the difference greatest for senior middle leaders at the top of their scale.
| Sep-17 | Rest of England | Inner London | % diff |
| Bottom Main Scale | £ 22,917 | £ 28,660 | 20% |
| Top Main Scale | £ 38,633 | £ 47,298 | 18% |
| TMS + TLR top | £ 51,660 | £ 60,325 | 14% |
| L1 | £ 39,374 | £ 46,814 | 16% |
| l20 | £ 62,863 | £ 70,310 | 11% |
| L43 | £ 109,366 | £ 116,738 | 6% |
Assuming schools spend around 60% of their funds on staff with QTS, plus another significant amount on non-teaching staff, where I assume the differential across the country isn’t significantly different, then how much more should a school in challenging circumstances in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets receive compared with a similar school in South East Oxford? If the differential is significantly more than 20% then one might ask how the different components within the NFF are derived. The additional of floors and ceilings only serve to make matters worse.
The DfE data published in the autumn of 2017 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-tables-for-schools-and-high-needs indicates a much greater than 20% difference between those local authorities with the smallest allocations and the London Boroughs with the largest amounts.
In terms of consequences, there is the issue of funding for small schools that this blog has highlighted before, but also the issue of how much extra schools in pockets of severe deprivation receive within local authorities that are generally regarded as affluent. The issue of the f40 group of authorities and the share of the national cake they receive was aired during the House of Commons debate, but not by any of the six MPs representing Oxfordshire constituencies. As there wasn’t a formal division, we don’t know whether they even attended the debate.
Yesterday, the Oxford Mail has a key article about funding for schools in the county, highlighting the concerns that funds are not sufficient. http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/16192951.SCHOOL_FUNDING__Oxfordshire_parents_battle_for_more_classroom_cash/
Much of Oxfordshire has local elections this Thursday, but I don’t sense that school funding is a big issue on the doorsteps, unlike potholes that seem to be the number one concern in many areas.
However, I am concerned that not enough forward planning is currently being undertaken by either Schools Forum or others to identify the position if current NFF trends continue for the next five How far can schools sustain different changes in pay rates for staff and not fall into deficit? There needs to be a debate about the consequences of the new approach to funding, not just in the short-term, but over the longer time period as well.
John Howson 
The situation is even more complex. I am a governor of a school in Loughton we are part of Essex, but are on the central line. We find recruitment extremely difficult because the salary differential for young staff between ourselves and neighbouring London boroughs is substantial. The cost of housing etc in Loughton and the surrounding area is just as expensive as the London Boroughs but the salary is substantially lower. We recently lost a number of good young staff to London Boroughs simply for a substantial increase in salary without additional responsibility. The new formula does not consider this situation unfortunately. I am not convinced that the government are taking these problems seriously. Perhaps its time for a centre “Education Party”
Frank,
good to hear from you. Yes, the cliff edge faced by schools in Essex; Herts, Surrey; Kent and former Berkshire where there are good transport links to London has been something that both DfE and STRB are aware of. I think the boundaries of the different pay areas rally are overdue for review and hence the effects on funding for schools in these areas.
John