Rachel writes…

I just (this moment) responded to the Department for Education’s consultation on the schools funding formula. Today is the last day for submissions, so I thought I should take a moment to write a blog post about why you should respond too.

Respond to the consultation here.

The consultation is long and detailed which may put some people off (though surely that is not the point? What are you suggesting?!), but when I did my response I only answered the first question where I set out my concerns, saying that despite their socioeconomic disadvantage, Newham pupils now enjoy enormous success after investment in their education, and that risking this by reducing funding now is something I would urge government to reconsider.

I then clicked past all the others and clicked ‘submit’, so it took only a couple of minutes.

There has been plenty about the schools funding consultation in the news, but the top and bottom of it is that most schools, and particularly London schools, stand to lose out substantially if the government’s plan to review how they are funded goes through.

There have been several campaigns against it, of which I think the most interesting and vibrant is schoolsjustwannahavefunds which you can find on twitter, and their website is here. Newham teachers have also published a great set of briefings and information that you can read here.

The most crucial reason to respond now is that there have been some tentative signs that the Tories may be wavering. This could be a great time to respond, and potentially make a difference. If you are, like me, a little weary of surveying all the various ways in which you’d like the world to change, and sometimes pessimistic about our chances of success, this could be a great and targeted use of a small amount of time and energy. We can only live in hope!