SCHOOL funding is being slashed by £10 per pupil across Worcestershire - sparking anger among headteachers and councillors.

Your Worcester News can reveal Worcestershire County Council has been left reeling after the Government's handouts for 2016/17 left it £12 million worse off once academies are taken into account.

The move comes after increasing numbers of schools converted to free schools or academies, with those still under the control of County Hall facing a worsening position.

Last November Chancellor George Osborne announced that from September 2017 a new, fairer formula will be in place to finally resolve the concerns about the county languishing among the worst-funded parts of the UK for schools.

It means the deal for 2016 will likely be the last one before any changes take place.

The overall dedicated schools grant will rise around £3 million to £368 million, but with more schools converting into academies or free schools, there will be around £145 million left for council-maintained sites.

Council chiefs say the fall in funding for that kitty is around £12 million, down from £157.2 million in 2015/16, because they have fewer schools to look after due to academy conversions.

But a separate Education Service Grant (ESG) is also shrinking, which is where the concern lies.

The new ESG offer is a £10-per-child cut, down to £4.2 million, a reduction of around £355,000.

An in-house report has called it "a direct reduction in funding for councils without a reduction in duties".

It comes after Prime Minister David Cameron revealed he wanted all schools to be free from local authority control by the end of this parliament - with the reductions the first step along that road.

Labour Councillor Paul Denham, Labour's children and families spokesman, said: "I was horrified to find that far from helping our children, the Government is now proposing to slash the amount it's giving the council by £10 for each child.

"This extra cash has been snatched back from the council, leaving it with even less to spend on students in all the other schools."

The council's Conservative leadership - which has already said it backs the Government's stance on more academy conversions - yesterday said it was confident the new 2017 formula will change things.

Councillor John Campion, the cabinet member for children and families, said: "The Government has a clear intent to make sure all young people have access to good or outstanding schools, and in Worcestershire we have a good range of quality schools overall.

"How education funding is distributed is changing and there is likely to be a consultation later in the year with a view to finally putting right the inequity where a child’s education is worth significantly more in Birmingham than it is in Worcestershire.

"In 13 years of Labour Government they did little to improve how education was funded in Worcestershire."

The leadership has been encouraging schools to free themselves from council control and make the conversions in recent years.

The basic per-pupil funding is £4,231 in Worcestershire compared to £5,218 in Birmingham, a startling £987 difference.

Back in November Mr Osborne said "systematically underfunded schools in whole swathes of the country" would be a thing of the past from 2017.

SCHOOLS STUCK IN A 'PERFECT STORM', SAYS HEAD

NEIL Morris says schools are stuck in a "perfect storm" - insisting the changes cannot come quickly enough.

Mr Morris, who has been in charge of Christopher Whitehead Language College in Bromwich Road, St John's for 13 years, said: "We are in a perfect storm in waiting for a funding formula which is not finalised yet.

"We're getting no gains this year, no additional funding whatsoever, yet my employer costs are rising by eight per cent and we employ 160 people.

"The reductions are significant (the £10 per-pupil cut in the Education Service Grant), we're looking at every avenue we can to save money.

"We are not breaking even, I spend much of my week trying to find extra funding streams and to me, it doesn't make educational sense.

"I still maintain Worcestershire's schools are doing phenomenally well because despite this, we're still providing world class education.

"They (the Government) said our buildings weren't fit for purpose in 2003, yet they are still here."

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan visited the school in November and said she was determined to deliver "a clear manifesto commitment" by handing the county more cash.

She insisted at the time that the changes could not kick in until 2017/18 at "the earliest" following this year's consultation with headteachers.

Worcestershire has already been handed an extra £6.7 million as part of a £390 million boost to the worst-funded parts of the UK.

But that is only expected to be a small step in the much bigger changes on the way.

Nine out of 10 Worcestershire schools are either rated 'good' or 'outstanding' by Ofted at the moment.

After years of regular conversions Worcestershire now has 62 academies and free schools, with 178 still under council control.

* SPECIAL REPORT: Worcestershire's schools big winners in Spending Review

* REPORT AND VIDEO: Education Secretary Nicky Morgan visits Worcester to pledge "clear commitment" on fairer school funding

* We back Prime Minister's pledge to loosen schools from council control, says County Hall's Conservative leadership