THE poorest schools in York are being hit by the greatest funding cuts according to York Central MP Rachael Maskell.

And the Labour politician said the lack of resources is having an impact on disadvantaged children.

Speaking in Parliament, Ms Maskell told Education Secretary Nick Gibb that funding cuts have hit Westfield Primary School and Tang Hall Primary School particularly hard.

She said: “Can the secretary of state explain why York has the worst funded schools in the country, why Westfield Primary Community School and Tang Hall Primary School have had the greatest cuts and yet are in the most economically and socially deprived areas of my constituency, and why York therefore has the highest attainment gap in the country?”

Mr Gibb replied: “The national funding formula introduces a fairer system, so that every pupil in every part of the country is funded on the same basis.

“A child in York with special educational needs, with low prior attainment ​or from a disadvantaged background will receive precisely the same amount of money as a similar pupil elsewhere in the country.”

Ms Maskell said figures released in advance of the funding formula being introduced show Westfield Primary School could lose £176,500 by 2020 and Tang Hall stands to lose £114,700.

She added that there is a link between the amount of funding York schools receive and the grades children achieve. She said: “Resources actually can improve outcomes. We have some of the most overcrowded classes in the country and down on the number of teachers. The cuts have fallen on the poorest schools, we are punishing the poorest children. That has an impact on their future opportunities.”

A report prepared for a council meeting last week said the attainment gap has widened between disadvantaged primary school pupils and their peers in literacy results in 2018.

The report said: “In all subject measures, the gap between disadvantaged pupils in York is wider than the gap for disadvantaged pupils nationally.”

Speaking at the meeting, the council’s head of primary school achievement Derek Sutherland said: “The gap is either not closing or widening in some areas. Our disadvantaged pupils are achieving more than they used to but because all pupils are achieving more, the gap doesn’t narrow as well.”