SCHOOLS in West Devon will be celebrating this week after it was announced that an extra £40-million is to be added to the cash boost towards fairer funding. The least fairly funded local areas across the South West will now benefit from a £390-million boost in the biggest step towards fairer schools funding in a decade. In March, it was learned that Devon schools were sixth from bottom of 150 education authorities for government funding, which resulted in a shortfall of £41-million compared to the national average. To tackle the issue, the Government proposed a £350-million boost to the most underfunded local authorities. But last Thursday the Government published details that an extra £40-million would be allocated to increase the budgets of the least fairly funded areas. The announcement has meant that Devon will now be the 17th highest gainer of the 150 authorities — receiving £16-million extra which equates to £194 extra per pupil. Around £7.50 will be taken from the total per pupil for the Carbon Reduction commitment, which brings the final amount to £186. The Carbon Reduction is money which is top-sliced by government from all local councils' schools money to go towards reducing carbon emissions in school buildings. Devon County Councillor James McInnes, cabinet member for children, schools and skills, welcomed the news but said there was still a long way to go. He said: 'I am very pleased that schools across West Devon will receive an extra £186 per pupil on average next year. 'Devon County Council has fought a long campaign with our schools and our MPs to persuade the Government that we need fair funding. 'This is a big step towards that and it's very welcome. But our children will still get nearly £300 less a head than the national average and we must keep up the pressure for fair funding for our schools.' Schools minister David Laws said: 'This £390-million will go a long way to removing the historic unfairness of the funding system. 'Crucially, we have ensured no local authority will see a reduction in its budget as a result of our reforms, while local authorities in the least fairly funded areas will see an increase. 'The increase in funding will make a real difference on the ground to schools across the South West without creating instability, uncertainty or cuts in any local area.' Funding will be allocated to local areas on the basis of the characteristics of their pupils and schools, rather than on historical data that is out-of-date and no longer reflects pupils' needs. Headteachers and chairs of governors met with West Devon and Torridge MP Geoffrey Cox in March at Mary Tavy and Brentor School to campaign to get fairer funding for education in Devon. In light of the new announcement, Nicky Pratten, headteacher at Mary Tavy and Brentor Primary School and chairman of the Tavistock Area Learning Community, said: 'It's fantastic news that more funding is available but we will continue to campaign to ensure all our children are treated equally across the UK.' Mr Cox said: 'I have lobbied hard for many years to see the unfairness in school funding removed, including bringing Michael Gove to the constituency while he was Secretary of State for Education, to enable him to see first-hand the discrepancy that has existed. 'I am therefore extremely pleased by this announcement, which sees the fulfilment of an election pledge and represents a huge step towards removing the unfairness in school funding. 'With this in mind, a permanent solution is now needed, and the Conservative govern-ment is committed to the reform of the Schools Grant to ensure that counties like Devon will not suffer as badly in the future as they have up to now.' The consultation on Fairer Schools Funding in 2015 was published on March 13 and closed on April 30.