West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has welcomed news that county schools will be getting £8.5 million more in funds to help ensure pupils get the best possible start in life.

Nine out of ten Worcestershire schools are rated good or outstanding and county budgets for local schools has now been boosted to a record annual budget topping £364 million.

Average per pupil funding at primary school has risen from £4,300 in 2011 to £4,800 in 2018, and average per pupil funding at secondary school now exceeds £6,200.

The Government’s new funding formula has been developed to end historic funding inequalities. For the first time, funding will be based on the individual needs and characteristics of every school in the country.

It is supported by an additional £1.3 billion, and the total core schools funding budget will rise from just under £41 billion to £43.5 billion over the next two years. This is the highest ever level of school funding, and represents more than a 50 per cent real terms per pupil increase since 2000-01.

And thanks to Government reforms, more children are not only studying the core academic subjects, but doing well in them. The proportion of children in Worcestershire passing all components of the English Baccalaureate – which includes English, Maths, the Sciences and a language - has risen by 8.4 per cent since 2011.

Harriett commented: “I have always been a strong voice for local schools and have worked with local teachers and Government Ministers to deliver a much fairer deal for our high-performing primary and secondary schools.

“The fairer funding deal is great news for all schools, with every school now seeing an increase in their annual budgets and I am happy to share the facts that schools are doing better and getting increases in funding, year on year.

“Local schools have faced cost pressures in recent years, with better pensions for teachers and costs of funding apprenticeships. They have delivered brilliantly. The facts are clear – funding is up, performance is up.

“In addition, all infants now get free school lunches and no child currently receiving free school meals will lose their entitlement during the roll out of Universal Credit. Any claims about children losing their meal are inaccurate – in fact the IFS have shown 50,000 more children will receive school meals under the new benefit.”