AN extra £1.3billion school funding announced this week is not enough to stop schools from making cuts, a union has claimed.

On Monday, Education Secretary Justine Greening announced the extra cash after introducing a new national funding formula for schools across the country.

The controversial formula was set to see many schools lose out - but the National Union of Teachers says the money will have no impact in the short term.

Jerry Glazier, general secretary for the Essex division of the union, said: “While the £1.3billion is welcome it does not appear in schools until the 2018/19 budget year.

“So there is no new cash for schools this September and then much less than the £4billion promised in the Conservative manifesto.”

Mr Glazier added: “The reality is that, with the £1.3billion spread over two years from 2018 until 2020, schools on average, will continue to see a shortfall in per pupil spending in real terms.

“That shortfall continues to grow as pupil numbers increase. Schools will need significantly more cash, per pupil, if further cuts to teaching and support staff, subjects on offer and increasing class sizes are to be avoided.”

In her announcement, Ms Greening said the money was not new and would be sourced from existing education budgets - including that for free schools.

The cash will also do little to address cuts already made which have resulted in redundancies for support staff and cuts to curriculum subjects such as art and geography.

Southend was facing unprecedented cuts for every school in the borough, sparking an Echo campaign calling for the formula to be reversed.

Mr Glazier said headteachers were trying to assess the impact of the announcement. He added: “It will have no impact this year. The cuts that have been made can’t be reversed. It is only in 2018 it will begin to have some impact but by then pupil numbers will have risen.”

Our campaign had the support of Tory MPs. Sir David Amess and James Duddridge both debated the subject in Parliament, calling on more support for the borough’s schools.

Following Ms Greening’s announcement Sir David, Conservative MP for Southend West, gave a cautious welcome to the extra funding.

He said: “The Education Secretary announced that schools in the UK would receive a funding boost of £1.3billion over the next two years. Throughout the recent general election, school funding was one of the main topics on everyone’s minds.

“While we don’t yet know what this announcement means for Southend, I welcome the commitment to improving school standards across the country.

“We will be keeping a keen eye out for more details in regards to the specific effects on our local schools in Southend.”