SCHOOLS across County Durham are to receive a funding boost as some will be able to dip into a government pot for the first time.

More small primary schools in sparsely populated areas will receive money next year with a the substantial increase to “sparsity funding” across the country.

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This means cash will be given to more County Durham schools.

The money to the county’s schools from the sparsity fund will more than double from £500,000 to £1.2m, and the number of schools receiving it will jump from 13 to 30.

“Next year eligibility for sparsity funding is changing, and the government are changing the rules in which this can be accessed,” said Paul Darby, Durham County Council’s corporate director of resources.

“Moving from an ‘as the crows fly’ calculation of travel distance to travel distance by road will result in many more schools becoming eligible and more than double the amount of funding being distributed in this way.”

He gave the council cabinet a report on mainstream primary and secondary schools grant funding, which will go up by £2.3bn, a 3.2 per cent increase nationally next year. Framwellgate Primary School is also eligible for growth funding because of increases in pupil numbers.

Councillor Ted Henderson, cabinet member for children and young people’s services, said at the cabinet meeting: “The changes to sparsity funding will increase the number of schools that can receive this.”

Cllr Richard Bell, deputy council leader and cabinet member for finance, said: “We will all welcome, I’m sure, the additional funding nationally being provided to core school funding next year.

“And in particular in terms of our school block, we estimate we will receive around £8.5m of additional funding for primary and secondary schools next year.

“And we would hope I’m sure that this makes a real difference to the education and lives of our young people who have been so badly affected by the pandemic.

“I also welcome the changes to the sparsity funding arrangements which seem eminently sensible to me, not having observed many schoolchildren fly to school in a straight line like a crow, and which will see the numbers of schools benefitting in County Durham more than double next year from 13 to 30.”

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