Recommendations have been made to improve schools' finance systems

A cross-party group of assembly members have argued the current system is not responding well to children's needs and was so complex, few understood it.

Now the AMs are calling on the assembly to overhaul the system to make it more less complex and more accountable.

The committee has made 27 recommendations which the Assembly Government said it will consider.

These include asking ministers to set basic funding levels for education across Wales, setting three-year budgets for schools, changing how money is distributed and giving more support to deprived schools.

The report will be debated next month but it is unlikely the minister in charge of Welsh education - Jane Davidson - will comment until the assembly returns from its summer recess in September.

We don't now what these budgets will be in two or three years time and consequently fulfilling the plans we have in mind... is extremely difficult Hefin Mathias, headteacher Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rumney

Headteacher Hefin Mathias, from Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rumney near Caerphilly, said one of the hardest things about budgeting was the uncertainty about what money would be available in the future.

"The schools have to be budgeted on an annual basis but we don't now what these budgets will be in two or three years time and consequently, fulfilling the plans we have in mind - particularly in schools whose population is stagnating or is falling - is extremely difficult," he said.

The committee, which includes members from all four of the main parties, described accountability to pupils, teachers and parents as "scattered and unclear" in its report.

It goes onto to say the politicians were "dismayed" to discover that school funding is mainly based on historic spending patterns rather than on what schools needed.

'Historic pattern'

Chair of the committee, William Graham AM, is hopeful education minister Jane Davison will be able to implement their proposals, but thought it was unlikely any more funds would be made available.

He called for Local Education Authorities to be given the chance to consult with headteachers and governors on a three-year baseline budget to allow them to plan for future.

The report, which is published on Wednesday, says the way that funding is distributed in schools seem to be driven more by "historic patterns" than "objective assessment".

This does not help teachers, governors or parents understand why their school is being funded at a particular level, it says.

Councillor John Davies, Welsh Local Government Association spokesman for education, said local authorities were already making progress with several of the report's 27 recommendations.

He said a recent Wales Audit Office report recognised that improvements were needed in information sharing, presentation and clarity.