NUMBERS from the Department for Education (DfE) confirm the initial cost to the taxpayer of the decision to grant a funding agreement to Becket Keys free school.
Figures for 2012/13, collected via the Education Funding Agency (EFA), are available from the DfE website (see http://t.co/JWPDIoeN).
This article says a further £2.5 million has been allocated to the free school so we must assume this covers future years. As the DfE are refusing to release the school's funding agreement this cannot be accurately assessed.
The available figures tell us that Becket Keys have been allocated £977,826 of our money to operate this school year.
To put this in perspective, St Martin's, Brentwood's largest secondary school, will receive £6,841,417 for Years 7 to 11 pupils. This works out at almost exactly £5,030 per pupil.
Becket Keys is receiving funding of £7,949.80 per pupil – almost £3,000 more.
The DfE said: "As new institutions, academies and free schools may receive additional financial support during the period whilst they are building up additional year groups.
"This 'start up' funding contributes to the costs of employing key staff, such as the head teacher, and purchasing school resources such as books and educational equipment.
"This would be the approach taken by the local authority if opening a new school."
But they haven't exactly started up a new school from scratch at Becket Keys. They had just closed one on the site, because the cost of keeping it open, given falling rolls, could not be justified.
Now it is reasonable to assume that part of that money would have been used to support the 123 students in existing schools. So if they were at the same level as the St Martin's students, that would account for £618,690 – some £359,136 less than the money allocated to Becket Keys.
Providing progress to A and B standard for pupils entering a school at Level 5 is a good target, but what of those at Level 3 or 2? Brentwood should still seek to cater for less academic pupils.
Of course, as reported by the Gazette in the summer ("School could make trust up to £800k") a proportion of allocated funds will be going to a private company, the Russell Education Trust.
You can decide whether that is a good use of your money.
For more information log on to www.educatingbrentwood.com