Schools across Kent have lost out on more than £13m in funding because of errors made by the Department for Education (DfE), according to new claims.

Almost all primaries and secondaries across the county have lost thousands of pounds each in what the Labour Party says is “staggering mathematical incompetence”.

Mistakes made by DfE officials in calculating the National Funding Formula (NFF) for 2024/25 mean that schools in the Kent County Council (KCC) and Medway catchments are out of pocket by £13.5m, says Labour.

NFF allocations were published in July but amended last month in light of the errors.

Labour claims KCC, which it says loses £11.4m, is the worst hit authority in the country. Medway schools will be out of pocket by £2.1m.

But Labour's claims have been challenged by KCC's Tory education chief who described them as an "attempt at point-scoring over a technical error".

Under the original DfE "notional" funding allocation, Sandwich Technical School was in line for £8.1m in funds but instead will get £76,000 less or £63 per pupil, according to Labour's analysis.

Invicta Grammar School in Maidstone would have received £7.6m but will lose over £69,000 or £55 per student.

Primary schools, according to Labour's figures, in many cases will be nearly as badly off per pupil than their much larger secondary counterparts.

For instance, Canterbury Primary School could have expected £2.1m but will end up with £20,000 less, at a cost of £50 per pupil.

Aylesham Primary School, near Dover, was set to get £2m but will see a shortfall of £18,500, or £47 for each student.

Schools across the South East region are set to be £61.7m worse off in total, almost double the average loss per region of £37m, says Labour.

Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) it would hit hard-pressed schools trying to balance the books for next year.

These issues have been made more acute for schools emerging from the pandemic, industrial action by teachers and building closures caused by crumbling (RAAC) concrete, she said.

The MP for Houghton and Sunderland South added: “Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants young people to learn maths to 18, but he ought to get his own house in order first and teach Conservative education ministers how to count.

“Ministers’ staggering mathematical incompetence follows hot on the heels of disruption caused by the Conservatives which has pushed our schools to breaking point.

“It’s no wonder that the relationship between families, schools and government is at rock bottom – education simply isn’t a priority for the Conservatives.

“Labour’s priority will be to put education at the heart of national life again, and to rebuild the trust between schools, families and government so that we can drive high and rising standards in our classrooms, supporting children to achieve and thrive.

“We will start by recruiting 6,500 more teachers and put mental health counsellors in every secondary school, paid for by ending private schools’ tax breaks.”

In a letter to four schools and teaching union bosses, schools minister Nick Gibb acknowledged the NFF error.

He wrote: "Improvements have already been identified to ensure that similar mistakes are not repeated.

"I want to be very clear that the republication does not change the total core schools budget for 2024-25 at £59.6 billion. This is the highest ever level of school funding in our history in real terms."

Mr Gibb said the Secretary of State has asked the Permanent Secretary to carry out an external and independent evaluation of the quality assurance process for the National Funding Formula.

KCC cabinet member for education Cllr Rory Love said: "It appears the Labour Party has misunderstood the figures. There was a technical error made by DfE officials during the initial calculations of the National Funding Formula (NFF) relating to the processing of forecast pupil numbers.

"The department has therefore issued new NFF allocations to correct that error while continuing to deliver, in full, the promised budget.

"The recalculation of the NFF does not affect the total amount in the core schools budget in 2024/25. Kent will be receiving £1,260m. The comparable figure for the current year (2023/24) is £1,234m, so Kent schools are seeing an increase in funding of £26m or 2.1% in the main Schools Block.

"Kent is also seeing a £10.3m (3.3%) increase in our High Needs Block funding. The Labour Party's attempt at point-scoring over a technical error is an unfortunate distraction from a more important debate about long-term investment in schools."

Kent education specialist Peter Read, a former secondary head teacher, said: "It is unfortunate timing, to say the least, if these figures are correct.

"Schools are desperate for money and some are having to lay off staff because they can't afford them."