CHESHIRE East Council voted unanimously to agree the Schools Funding Formula.

Our schools are experiencing financial challenges and I would like to thank the Schools Forum for reaching a compromise. It was difficult because of the consequences of adopting the National Funding Formula.

Our schools can use the Local Funding Formula, a half-way house or the National Funding Formula, the agreed formula is then used for all schools.

The expectation is that all schools will, in the future adopt the NFF.

However, this presents great difficulties for many of our schools.

Many of primary schools would face even more difficulty if it was adopted, whilst our secondary schools could attract more funding.

Hence, why a compromise had to be reached.

The issues in respect of our primary schools, is that many of them are small and in rural areas, these characteristics, do not attract the further funding that deprivation does in respect of the National Funding Formula.

Yet they face enormous challenges in terms of economies of scale and cannot make financial cuts without impacting negatively on the potential quality of the school experience for our children.

However, I would also state that despite the increase in the Minimum Per Pupil Funding, all of our schools are facing financial challenges.

This is why I would like to thank all of our local MPs for continuing to lobby for fairer funding on behalf of our Cheshire East Schools.

If our MPs are successful in their campaign, it will only benefit the future of all of our children and young people, whilst impacting positively on the future prosperity of our country.

Cllr Jos Saunders Cabinet Member for Children and Families