THE politician in charge of education in West Berkshire has said he hasn’t read responses to a consultation asking schools about major budget changes.

Schools in the district were recently asked to give their views about taking £261,000 out of their main budget to spend on high needs education — to be spent on children and young people with special needs and disabilities, and pupil referral units.

But some headteachers told West Berkshire Council they disagreed with the proposal, in a consultation of all schools in the district.

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However, Councillor Dominic Boeck (Con, Aldermaston), lead for education, said he “can’t answer” why the plan is unpopular — because he hasn’t read the individual responses to the consultation.

At a meeting of the council executive on January 16, Cllr David Marsh (Green, Wash Common) said: “Can Cllr Boeck explain why this isn’t popular with schools?”

Cllr Boeck said: “I haven’t read the individual consultation responses, so I don’t have a feel for why they are unhappy. So I can’t really answer that question.”

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The £261,000 transfer is 0.25 per cent of the main schools budget in West Berkshire of £104.5 million; while the total high needs budget next year is £21,595,683. 

Cllr Lee Dillon (Lib Dem, Thatcham North East) said it was “concerning” that Cllr Boeck hadn’t read the responses from schools. 

Cllr Boeck said: “The specific point put to me by Cllr Marsh was why do the schools feel as they do. I know what the responses were, but I can’t say what their motivations are. I’m sorry about that.”

Class sizes could be impacted by the funding transfer, according to Cllr Erik Pattendon (Lib Dem, Greenham), the shadow education member. He said the plans “would be nowhere near sufficient” to fill the £1.5 million gap in the high needs budget. 

Staffing restructures and possible redundancies could also result from the reduced funding, according to the council’s chief accountant Melanie Ellis. 

She also warned of more schools in budget deficit and the “non-viability” of small schools. In a report to the executive meeting, she said: “For many schools their funding allocation will not increase by anywhere near the amount required to cover current increases in costs.”

Cllr Boeck said: “The funding, as it is at the moment, isn’t right for us. While the government has provided £5 million more, I agree: that’s not enough. We will be lobbying through Laura Farris, our MP, to get better funding for us.”