Asked by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the difference is between the number of pupils currently studying in England and the number forecasted in 2015.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department publishes both pupil level projections and, separately, data on the numbers in school on an annual basis. The most recent figures on the numbers in school are from January 2016 school census and can be found in the statistical first release available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2016.
The 2015 projection of the 2016 school population (published at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-pupil-projections-trends-in-pupil-numbers-july-2015), and the equivalent school census figures, are given in the table below.
Projected and actual school population, January 2016, England
Full-time equivalent figures up to and including age 15
| All schools1 | State funded schools2 |
2016 census | 7,842 | 7,365 |
2015 projection for 2016 | 7,837 | 7,362 |
thousands
1 State funded nursery, primary, secondary, special and alternative provisions schools, plus independent and non-maintained special schools
2 As 1 but omitting independent and non-maintained special schools
Asked by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that additional funding to support the education of children who are entitled to free school meals can be claimed by schools in the event that those children do not claim those free school meals.
Answered by Edward Timpson
We are determined to give every child, regardless of their background, the very best start in life. Both free school meals (FSM) and pupil premium (which links to FSM eligibility) are key to this and we want all parents whose children are entitled FSM, to apply for them.
The current eligibility criteria for FSM requires the parent (or pupil) to be both in receipt of a specified benefit and to make a request for the meal to be provided free of charge.
To support this the Department for Education provides an electronic Eligibility Checking System (ECS), which allows local authorities to check data held by DWP, the Home Office and HMRC in order to establish FSM eligibility. The Department has also provided a model registration form and accompanying guidance, which schools can use as part of their enrolment process.
We want to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility for FSM, and the Department is looking at what can be done in the longer term to make the FSM registration processes even more efficient.
Asked by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will provide an update on the advice her Department is giving to universities on whether students taking a sabbatical from their studies should remain enrolled at their university.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Universities are autonomous institutions responsible for setting their own policies. The Department does not provide advice to universities about student sabbaticals.
Asked by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the value of feasibility studies to ascertain how to prioritise delayed work in schools identified in phase 2 of the Priority School Building Programme.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The PSBP2 team conducted scoping studies of the successful school buildings in summer 2015. The scoping studies assessed the scope of work required to address condition need, together with any specific issues. The EFA team then confirmed the programme for delivery of the building projects at the 277 schools in December 2015 and work has since started at a number of schools to develop feasibility studies.
Where possible, schools in the worst condition are being delivered first. We also have a review process in place that allows us to consider bringing forward work at a school if there is a genuine need and we can do so within the programme constraints.
Detailed feasibility studies are carried out for each school to identify the options available to address condition need. Each feasibility study is independently reviewed and approved.
Asked by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support is being provided for schools identified under phase 2 of the Priority Schools Building Programme which are awaiting urgent repairs.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Over the previous parliament, the department allocated £18 billion to maintain and improve the condition of school buildings. A further £4.2 billion of funding was announced to be allocated over 2015-18 to schools, local authorities, academy trusts and voluntary aided partnerships to improve their own schools.
Schools that are part of PSBP2 are also eligible to apply for the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) for blocks or areas of the school that are not included in the work they will receive under the programme.
Each school in PSBP has direct contact with an EFA Project Director who can provide further tailored advice in regards to repairs and sources of potential funding. There is also a review process in place that allows us to consider bringing forward work at a school if there is a genuine need and we can do so within the programme constraints.
Asked by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons her Department plans to begin collecting country of birth data on children aged two to 19 from Autumn 2016; what limitations will be placed by her Department on disclosure of such information to (a) other government departments and (b) private third parties; and whether her Department plans to change its protocols or processes for handling and disclosure of confidential information when country of birth data begins to be collected.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The collection of data on the country of birth and nationality of pupils will be used to improve our understanding of the scale and impact of pupil migration on the education sector, and provide the Department with a better evidence base for future policy decision making. These new data items will provide valuable statistical information on the characteristics of these groups of children, and along with their attainment and destinations, will allow the Department to measure whether the individual pupils, or the schools they attend, face additional educational challenges.
The data will be collected solely for internal Departmental use for the analytical, statistical and research purposes described above. There are currently no plans to share the data with other government Departments and decisions on whether the Department will release any personal data to third parties are subject to a robust approval process and are based on a detailed assessment of who is requesting the data, the purpose for which it is required, the level and sensitivity of data requested and the arrangements in place to store and handle the data. Details about the process are available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-pupil-database-apply-for-a-data-extract
There are currently no plans for the Department to change the existing protocols and processes for the handling and disclosure of confidential information.
Asked by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on releasing funding for the establishment of the College of Teaching.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government welcomes plans to establish a College of Teaching. We are working with the College to discuss what Government support could be helpful in the initial set-up phase of the new body.
Asked by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effects of the establishment of the College of Teaching on (a) continuing professional development of teachers and (b) teaching standards.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government supports the establishment of a new College of Teaching, a new independent professional body for teachers. The College of Teaching has great potential to raise the status of the profession and improve standards through: supporting teachers to access accredited, high quality professional development; setting standards to determine effective professional practice; and helping teachers to use evidence on ‘what works’ to inform their own practice.
Asked by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions (a) she and (b) officials of her Department have had with the trustees of the College of Teaching.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Officials from the Department for Education have met regularly with representatives of the trustees, and also with the ‘Claim Your College’ consortium of education organisations that led plans to establish the new professional body. The Department is continuing to hold discussions with trustees on what Government support would be helpful for the College.
Asked by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what requirements there are on schools commissioners to (a) declare and (b) publish professional and financial interests.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Regional Schools Commissioners are civil servants and are bound by the same rules on the declaration and publication of professional and financial interests as all other civil servants of a similar grade. Regional Schools Commissioners are required to declare any professional or business interest within the past five years, which may, or may be seen as, influencing their judgement in performing their role.
The Department for Education keeps a register of all declared interests for the Regional Schools Commissioners. This register is reviewed on a quarterly basis and published online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/schools-commissioners-group/about/our-governance