MILLIONS of pounds of funding has been cut from East Lancashire schools in the past four years, a campaign’s figures claim.
The majority of primary and secondary schools have faced shortfalls and the amount of money being spent on each pupil has dropped by hundreds of pounds, according to analysis by the School Cuts Coalition.
The union-backed group's figures claim dozens of schools in Blackburn have lost large amounts from their annual budgets since 2015/16.
But the Department for Education and Rossendale and Darwen Tory MP Jake Berry said the campaign’s figures were ‘misleading’.
The School Cuts Coalition analysis says Witton Park Academy has lost £592,330 in four years, with Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School losing £402,444.
Other big losses include Blackburn Central High School losing £436,239 and Pleckgate High School missing out on £590,000.
Accrington Academy has an annual shortfall of £600,728, Accrington St Christopher’s CE High School has lost £359,594 and Mount Carmel RC High School has lost £416,794.
Dean Logan, Witton Park Academy’s headteacher, denies the school has experienced the shortfall stated by the analysis and has set a balanced budget for the next three years.
He said: “The challenge arises from increased costs for schools, such pensions.
“It is more challenging and a clear focus on savings is important.
“A greater challenge is recruitment, this is more likely to have an impact on standards.”
Nationally, the shortfall in funding has been £5.4billion in the past three years with 91 per cent of England’s schools affected. The coalition figures show the amount spent per pupil has decreased by several hundred pounds in some cases.
St Oswald’s RC Primary School in Accrington has lost £630 spending per pupil since 2015/16, St Peter’s CE Primary School also in the town has £538 less since the same year.
Blackburn Central High School is £421 worse off per pupil and Our Lady of Perpetual Succour RC Primary School in Blackburn has £488 less to spend per pupil.
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of National Education Union, said: “This is an intolerable situation. Children and young people are being short-changed by a government that believes education can be run on a shoestring.”
But a DfE spokesman said: “We believe these figures are misleading.
“While we recognise that schools have faced budgeting challenges, this government has prioritised school funding, protecting the schools budget overall for five to 16-year- olds in real terms since 2010.
“School funding in England is at its highest ever level and since 2017 we have given every local authority in England more money for every pupil in every school.”
Blackburn with Darwen Council education boss Cllr Maureen Bateson called for a review of school funding to make up the shortfalls.
Blackburn with Darwen Council education boss Cllr Maureen Bateson said: “I know some schools have suffered directly from government cuts but not all. However, the money put into education by the government doesn’t cover rising costs such as staff salaries and the effect of inflation.
“The government needs to rethink its funding for schools and councils.”
Rossendale and Darwen MP Jake Berry said: “This union-backed campaign from a discredited website is misleading parents with their dodgy figures.
“The independent United Kingdom Statistics Authority has criticised the coalition’s’ use of statistics saying that their figures risk giving a misleading impression of future changes in school budgets.
“Figures from Lancashire County Council show education spending in Lancashire is at it’s highest ever with the county’s schools’ budget for 2019/20 increasing from £917 million to £940 million.”
UNISON head of education Jon Richards said schools everywhere are “struggling” and ministers must act now or a generation of children will be “disastrously let down”.
The DfE spokesman added: “The Education Secretary has made clear he will back head teachers to have the resources they need to deliver a world-class education.”
Full breakdown of campaign’s figures for each school in Blackburn:
School name
Change in per pupil funding 2018/19 to 2015/16 (first figure)
Size of annual shortfall 2015/16 to 2018/19 (second figure
Ashleigh Primary School Primary -£109 £25,738
Audley Infant School Primary -£224 £70,733
Audley Junior School Primary £30 -£12,269
Avondale Primary School Primary -£279 £113,638
Belthorn Academy Primary School Primary -£279 £113,638
Blackburn Central High School Secondary -£492 £436,239
Blackburn St Thomas' Church of England Primary School Primary -£255 £106,141
Blackburn the Redeemer CofE Primary Primary -£297 £125,462
Brookhouse Primary School Primary -£421 £88,922
Cedars Primary School Primary -£372 £146,765
Daisyfield Primary School Primary -£45 £12,470
Darwen Aldridge Community Academy Secondary -£52 £69,521
Darwen Aldridge Enterprise Studio Secondary £76 -£12,405
Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy Primary -£15 £2,422
Darwen St Peter's Church of England Primary School Primary -£143 £42,428
Darwen Vale High School Secondary -£4 £2,883
Darwen, St Barnabas CofE Primary Academy Primary -£301 £55,987
Feniscowles Primary School Primary -£143 £58,991
Griffin Park Primary School Primary -£49 £10,329
Hoddlesden St Paul's Church of England Primary School Primary -£310 £61,926
Holy Souls Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn Primary -£188 £38,654
Holy Trinity VC School Primary £43 - £9,561
Intack Primary School Primary -£272 £89,032
Lammack Primary School Primary -£142 £69,004
Livesey Saint Francis' Church of England School Primary -£133 £26,504
Longshaw Community Junior School Primary -£23 £7,963
Longshaw Infant School Primary -£210 £52,410
Lower Darwen Primary School Primary -£157 £53,232
Meadowhead Infant School Primary £154 -£24,833
Meadowhead Junior School Primary £52 -£13,302
Our Lady and St John Catholic College Secondary -£189 £133,588
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn Primary -£488 £92,812
Pleckgate High School Secondary -£555 £590,795
Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School -£354 £386,613
Roe Lee Park Primary School Primary -£66 £23,650
Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn Primary -£179 £31,486
Shadsworth Infant School Primary £126 -£22,541
Shadsworth Junior School Primary -£156 £36,695
St Aidan's Primary School - A Church of England Academy Primary £245 -£42,870
St Alban's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn Primary -£316 £60,629
St Anne's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn Primary -£37 £7,550
St Antony's RC Primary School Primary -£255 £53,485
St Barnabas and St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary-£130 £46,316
St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn Secondary -£79 £82,050
St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School Primary -£399 £84,641
St Edward's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn Primary -£130 £26,733
St Gabriel's Church of England Primary School Primary -£128 £27,043
St James' Church of England Primary School Primary -£222 £45,372
St James' Church of England Primary School Blackburn Primary -£273 £106,844
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Darwen Primary -£230 £30,595
St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School Primary -£212 £37,039
St Mary's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Blackburn Primary -£192 £39,667
St Matthew's Church of England Primary School Primary -£44 £12,065
St Michael With St John CofE Primary School Primary -£116 £41,315
St Paul's Roman Catholic Primary School, -£259 £53,625
St Peter's Roman Catholic Primary School -£93 £38,738
St Silas's CofE Primary School Primary -£265 £108,872
St Stephen's Church of England Primary School Primary -£137 £57,519
St Stephen's Tockholes CofE Primary School Primary -£871 £40,935
St Wilfrid's Church of England Academy Secondary -£173 £248,420
Sudell Primary School Primary -£188 £34,005
Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School Secondary -£405 £234,779
Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School Secondary -£523 £402,444
The Olive School Blackburn Primary Unavailable Unavailable
Turton Belmont Community Primary School Primary -£513 £48,183
Turton and Edgworth CofE/Methodist Controlled Primary School Primary -£120 £27,084
Wensley Fold CofE Primary Academy Primary -£503 £210,850
Witton Park Academy Secondary -£582 £592,330
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Hyndburn Accrington Academy -£523 £600,728
Accrington Benjamin Hargreaves Voluntary Aided CE Primary School -£142 £23,673
Accrington Huncoat Primary School -£91 £17,017
Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School -£467 £207,644
Accrington Peel Park Primary School -£203 £124,559
Accrington Spring Hill Community Primary School -£458 £188,515
Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School -£273 £359,594
Accrington St John with St Augustine Church of England Primary School-£342 £70,707
Accrington St Mary Magdalen's Church of England Primary School -£597 £122,377
Accrington Woodnook Primary School -£269 £52,526
Altham St James Church of England Primary School -£839 £52,868
Baxenden St John's Church of England Primary School -£234 £48,000
Church, St Nicholas Church of England Primary School -£269 £51,601
Clayton-le-Moors All Saints Church of England Primary School -£67 £17,741
Clayton-le-Moors Mount Pleasant Primary School -£269 £108,228
Great Harwood Primary School -£167 £26,909
Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School -£163 £33,346
Great Harwood St John's Church of England Primary School -£422 £62,091
Green Haworth Church of England Primary School -£584 £45,573
Haslingden Broadway Primary School -£313 £66,265
Haslingden High School and Sixth Form -£425 £670,363
Haslingden Primary School -£270 £112,234
Haslingden St James Church of England Primary School -£992 £170,630
Knuzden St Oswald's CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School -£216 £42,832
Mount Carmel Roman Catholic High School, Hyndburn -£570 £416,794
Oswaldtwistle Hippings Methodist Voluntary Controlled Primary School -£63 £13,297
Oswaldtwistle Moor End Primary School -£170 £31,735
Oswaldtwistle St Andrew's Church of England Primary School -£267 £78,660
Oswaldtwistle St Paul's Church of England Primary School -£385 £55,778
Oswaldtwistle West End Primary School -£209 £43,533
Rhyddings Business and Enterprise School -£386 £221,063
Rishton Methodist Primary School -£201 £34,250
Rishton St Peter and St Paul's Church of England Primary School -£244 £45,900
Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School, Church -£506 £101,173
St Anne's and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington £13 -£3,568
St Charles' RC School -£57 £10,638
St Hubert's Roman Catholic Primary School, Great Harwood -£209 £33,663
St John's Stonefold CofE Primary School -£554 £72,073
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Clayton-le-Moors -£255 £29,844
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Haslingden -£412 £58,538
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Oswaldtwistle -£153 £39,868
St Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School, Accrington -£630 £86,361
St Peter's CofE Primary School -£538 £101,753
St Wulstan's Catholic Primary School, Great Harwood -£304 £52,674
The Hollins -£327 £261,676
The Hyndburn Academy -£284 £124,832
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