London Councils claims this move is contrary to government’s original promise to provide more funding in areas including London, where costs such as teacher salaries are higher.
London Councils’ lead member for children and young people, Steve Reed, accused the government of disadvantaging many of the vulnerable pupils the premium is intended to help.
"Deprived pupils in London will lose out on the benefits of the pupil premium in comparison with deprived pupils elsewhere in the country, unless an appropriate area cost adjustment is put in place for London," he said.
"Applying a flat rate of pupil premium does not take into account the higher costs, such as teachers’ salaries, in London – £430 per deprived pupil will not go a long way in addressing educational attainment gaps between rich and poor pupils as it is, but given our higher costs in London it is even less likely to make much of a difference.
"For example, if a school wanted to use that funding to provide additional one-to-one tuition it would not cover as many sessions for a London child as it would for pupils elsewhere in the country."
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