Asked by: David Baines (Labour - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reform the national curriculum.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE.
The review will seek to refresh the curriculum to ensure it is cutting edge, fit for purpose and meeting the needs of children and young people to support their future life and work.
The government’s ambition is for a curriculum that delivers excellent foundations in reading, writing and mathematics, and ensures every young person gets the opportunity to develop creative, digital, and speaking and listening skills particularly prized by employers.
The review will look closely at the key challenges to attainment for young people, and the barriers which hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve – in particular those who are socio-economically disadvantaged, or with special educational needs or disabilities.
The views of the sector will be pivotal to the review and there will be extensive engagement throughout. A call for evidence will be launched in the coming weeks and the review will also undertake a national roadshow, meeting and taking input from staff on the frontline.
Asked by: David Baines (Labour - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost to the public purse was of funding state schools in St Helens North constituency in (a) 2024 and (b) 2010.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department cannot provide comparable funding for St Helens North constituency back to 2010, due to the changes in the funding system since that time. Therefore, the scope of the funding in 2010 and 2024 are not directly comparable. In particular, in 2018/19 the central services provided by local authorities were split out from the schools block funding, and instead became funded separately through the central school services block from that year onwards.
The schools national funding formula (NFF) determines schools’ core revenue funding, in respect of 5 to 16 year olds, for all mainstream schools in England. Constituency figures are based on an aggregate of schools’ notional NFF allocations. In 2024/25, the schools in St Helens North constituency received an aggregated total of £86.5 million through the NFF. The allocations that schools within a constituency actually receive are determined by the local funding formula in their area.
The above figure is for mainstream schools only. The department does not hold constituency level funding data for special schools.
In addition to this core revenue funding, schools also receive funding through a number of separate streams, including pupil premium, Universal Infant Free School Meals funding, PE and sport premium funding, and the recovery premium, and the National Tutoring Programme to support education recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. The department also has a capital budget, which funds a range of programmes for schools, such as the Schools Rebuilding Programme. Additionally, schools will receive funding for 16 to 19 year olds, or for children in school nursery provision, if applicable.