Responding to the publication of the review into the funding formula for Welsh schools, Laura Doel, national director at NAHT Cymru, said:
“We have long argued that the messy postcode lottery in how local authorities allocate school funding lacks transparency and makes it impossible to understand whether schools are getting a fair and equitable share of resources compared to their counterparts in different parts of Wales.
“We understand that all schools are different, and that funding should reflect pupil cohorts and each local context - but it’s important that this is done on the basis of clear and up to date national guidelines.
“These recommendations must therefore act as a wake-up call to the Welsh Government, and it’s important that they are implemented.
“While doing so may help to ensure more consistent allocation of funding to schools by local authorities across the country, what it will not do is guarantee that the level of funding is enough to meet pupils’ needs.
"Too many schools simply do not have the money they need to set balanced budgets and the Welsh Government has failed to answer basic questions over what if any additional funding schools will receive as a consequence of the increased education spending in England announced in last autumn’s UK Budget.”
First published 07 February 2025