A ROW has broken out between two primary schools over who is entitled to more than £30,000 of pupil funding.

The Northern Echo understands eleven children have moved from Blessed John Ducket Roman Catholic Primary School to Tow Law Millennium Primary School in the town since last November.

This coincides with when the latter’s Ofsted rating increased from Satisfactory to Good.

However, it has been alleged the governors of Blessed John Duckett has refused to hand over the funding for these children, understood to amount to £30,800 - the equivalent of a teacher’s salary.

This means Tow Law Millennium will miss out on thousands of pounds worth of funding it should have received based on the Government’s funding formula, while Blessed John Duckett will be over funded.

Sharon McQuiggin, headteacher of Blessed John Duckett, which is also rated Good by Ofsted, declined to comment.

Lisa Jackson, headteacher of Tow Law Millennium Primary School, was unavailable yesterday.

Phil Hodgson, Durham County Council’s head of education, said funding could only be adjusted if a pupil was excluded or if the schools came to an agreement.

He said: “Central Government formula funding for our primary schools is based on the number of pupils recorded in the preceding October’s census, so funding for the year starting April 2018 is determined by the figures provided in the October 2017 census. The funding can’t be adjusted during the year unless a pupil is permanently excluded or there is a voluntary agreement between schools to transfer funding.

“As we understand it, Tow Law Primary has now contacted Blessed John Beckett Primary to request the funding is transferred. This decision rests with the governors of Blessed John Duckett. The only other source of funding available under these circumstances is a contingency which is held to support schools in financial difficulty, although Tow Law Primary does not qualify for financial assistance due to its relatively stable finances.”