Round-up of the National Fair Funding Conference 2022

A successful day of thought leadership and workshops for leaders in education.

At the National Fair Funding Conference today, a range of interesting topics across funding for education were discussed. As part of his keynote speech, Deputy Director for Funding at the Department for Education, Tom Goldman, talked about the Autumn Statement delivered last week by Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt. The statement included a further £2.3 billion in education funding. Tom also spoke about an announcement due in December about how the additional funding will be allocated.

The keynote speech was followed by a panel discussion on High Needs Funding, chaired by Jonathan Lewis, Chair of the National Fair Funding Committee. The panel discussed the challenges faced in this area, even though funding is set to increase by 50% over the next four years.

Andrew Minall, Head of Education Financial Services at Hampshire County Council provided a fantastic insight into ways to make schools financial management sustainable in the context of rising costs, including a surge in the demand across all LAs for SEN support.

During the refreshment breaks and lunch, delegates were able to meet and discuss the support offered by Strictly Education, Thrive Approach and Best Practice Network to the education sector from representatives from each of these organisations. Alongside funding for education, delegates were also able to explore how establishments in their areas can make financial savings, be effective and more efficient.

The afternoon included a selection of workshops, delivered by experts in education funding, including Andy Humphreys of the Education Skills Funding Agency’s Funding Directorate, Paul Baker, Central Capital Unity Deputy Director from the DfE and Dipal Patel, Financial Strategy Lead from the Department for Education.

The conference was well received by attendees, who expressed enthusiasm for the opportunity to discuss education funding with both their peers and experts in the field and representatives from the Department for Education. The event was organised and hosted by Strictly Education in Bristol.