THE council will lobby the government to better fund the education system after schools in the borough lost more than half a million pounds this year.

The chief executive is set to write to the Secretary of State for Education to call on the government to ‘scale up its ambition’ for children and young people.

The local authority’s letter will also ask ministers to ‘give our education system the necessary resources to ensure that no child is left behind’.

It comes after the government changed the way it allocates money for the most disadvantaged children through pupil premium funding, which meant that schools in Wigan missed out on more than £500,000 earlier this year.

Labour councillor Jenny Bullen, who is the portfolio holder for children and families at Wigan Council, said this source of funding is ‘not to be sniffed at’.

She said: “It is schools in our most disadvantaged areas that are most affected.

“Our children need and deserve this additional support.

“This move does not respect the government’s so-called levelling up agenda and will only widen the gap between the deprived and more affluent.”

Publicly funded schools in England get extra Pupil Premium funding from the government to help them improve the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

This funding, which pays for free school meals, amounts to £1,345 a year for every eligible primary age pupil, or £955 for every eligible secondary age pupil.

However, for the 2021/22 financial year, this funding will be based on the October 2020 census of pupils instead of the January 2021 census.

This means any pupil who became eligible during the pandemic from October last year to the beginning of this year will not receive any additional funding.

This leaves Wigan borough’s schools short-changed by £586,000 for this financial year – £479,000 for primary and £107,000 for secondary schools, the council says.

In a motion presented to full council, Cllr Bullen also described the £1.4bn offered for education recovery plans as ‘inadequate’.

Councillors from all parties voted in favour of the motion at the meeting.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We are committed to ensuring all children have access to good quality education, no matter their background.

“Using the October census for pupil premium allocation means schools will now know their full budget earlier in the year, helping them to plan ahead.

“Any pupil who became eligible after the October census will attract funding in the following year.

“Pupil premium funding has risen for the majority of schools, to more than £2.5bn overall this year – an increase of £60m compared to last year.

“Combined with our ambitious education recovery plan, this will ensure disadvantaged children are supported with their attainment.”