Thousands of small council-funded primary schools – those with less than 75 pupils – could be threatened with closure under government plans to create a national funding formula, council chiefs have warned.

Currently, local authorities have discretion over local funding and can top up budgets for small schools when needed. Under Department for Education (DfE) plans put out to consultation on 26 March, however, small schools would receive a fixed sum determined by central government – in the region of £100,000 to £150,000 a year.