IT’S been a difficult few weeks for schools on the financial front. First off is the new Government-led funding formula – such phrases are usually a euphemism for cuts – and now the threat of being stung for energy tax bills imposed on Oxfordshire County Council.

It’s hard to pin down the villain of the piece, but overall there is just something not right about schools bearing the brunt of this. A push to be more energy efficient is overall a good thing and needs an element of stick to be effective.

County councils and the like are large organisations and a good target for making such savings. But where that runs aground is when our schools are disadvantaged financially, largely through no fault of their own.

While sensible drives such as ensuring lights off out of hours should be encouraged, many of our schools have old facilities that will never reasonably meet the energy efficiencies taken as given in more modern buildings.

That should be recognised and the Government’s tax dogs called off when it is a choice between stripping money away that should be spent on the education of our children or leaving them shivering because the heating has been turned off early.