Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will review whether current school funding arrangements adequately recognise the strategic importance of small rural schools in West Dorset where pupil numbers are low.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises the pressures caused by demographic changes in some areas. We have allocated £155 million in Growth and Falling Rolls funding to local authorities in the 2026/27 financial year through the Dedicated Schools Grant.
Furthermore, the lagged funding system, where schools are funded on the basis of their pupil numbers in the previous October census, helps to give schools more certainty over funding levels to aid their planning. Additionally, we are working with the sector to develop a decision-making framework to support local areas to plan school places strategically through demographic change.
The government recognises the essential role that small schools play in their communities, many of which are in rural areas. The schools national funding formula accounts for the challenges faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factor. In Dorset, 34.5% of schools attract sparsity funding, reflecting the significant number of schools serving rural communities.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will review whether current school funding arrangements adequately recognise the strategic importance of small rural schools where pupil numbers are low.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises the pressures caused by demographic changes in some areas. We have allocated £155 million in Growth and Falling Rolls funding to local authorities in the 2026/27 financial year through the Dedicated Schools Grant.
Furthermore, the lagged funding system, where schools are funded on the basis of their pupil numbers in the previous October census, helps to give schools more certainty over funding levels to aid their planning. Additionally, we are working with the sector to develop a decision-making framework to support local areas to plan school places strategically through demographic change.
The government recognises the essential role that small schools play in their communities, many of which are in rural areas. The schools national funding formula accounts for the challenges faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factor. In Dorset, 34.5% of schools attract sparsity funding, reflecting the significant number of schools serving rural communities.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made in developing a national strategy for funding schools affected by falling pupil numbers.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises the pressures caused by demographic changes in some areas. We have allocated £155 million in Growth and Falling Rolls funding to local authorities in the 2026/27 financial year through the Dedicated Schools Grant.
Furthermore, the lagged funding system, where schools are funded on the basis of their pupil numbers in the previous October census, helps to give schools more certainty over funding levels to aid their planning. Additionally, we are working with the sector to develop a decision-making framework to support local areas to plan school places strategically through demographic change.
The government recognises the essential role that small schools play in their communities, many of which are in rural areas. The schools national funding formula accounts for the challenges faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factor. In Dorset, 34.5% of schools attract sparsity funding, reflecting the significant number of schools serving rural communities.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what flexibility is available to maintained and church schools in West Dorset to develop alternative educational models that meet local needs while remaining financially sustainable.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government wants all schools to benefit from strong and effective partnerships, enabling them to collaborate with other schools and local partners to improve outcomes for children and young people.
Schools have a range of opportunities to work with other schools and organisations in ways that reflect circumstances and community needs. The department is supporting local authorities, dioceses and trusts through area planning to develop sustainable and geographically-coherent arrangements that reflect local circumstances.
This approach helps schools access shared expertise, leadership and support, while continuing to serve their local communities. High-quality partnerships can also help schools build capacity, improve financial resilience and respond effectively to local challenges.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what flexibility is available to maintained and church schools to develop alternative educational models that meet local needs while remaining financially sustainable.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government wants all schools to benefit from strong and effective partnerships, enabling them to collaborate with other schools and local partners to improve outcomes for children and young people.
Schools have a range of opportunities to work with other schools and organisations in ways that reflect circumstances and community needs. The department is supporting local authorities, dioceses and trusts through area planning to develop sustainable and geographically-coherent arrangements that reflect local circumstances.
This approach helps schools access shared expertise, leadership and support, while continuing to serve their local communities. High-quality partnerships can also help schools build capacity, improve financial resilience and respond effectively to local challenges.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to help ensure that school admissions arrangements can better support schools in West Dorset experiencing falling pupil numbers and prevent significant declines in pupil numbers.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Schools’ admission authorities are responsible for setting their admission arrangements in the local context. Admission authorities can make changes to their published admission number (PAN) and oversubscription criteria, in line with the statutory School Admissions Code, to respond to changing local circumstances.
Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act, the government has introduced new duties on schools and local authorities to co-operate on admissions and place planning matters. The Act will also enable the adjudicator to specify changes to a school‘s PAN where they uphold an objection to that PAN. The department intends to update the School Admissions Code and associated regulations to implement this change, which will help ensure decisions about the number of places offered by schools take account of local circumstances, demand for places and the impact on the wider local school system, as well as school quality and parental choice.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that school admissions arrangements can better support schools experiencing falling pupil numbers and prevent significant declines in pupil numbers.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Schools’ admission authorities are responsible for setting their admission arrangements in the local context. Admission authorities can make changes to their published admission number (PAN) and oversubscription criteria, in line with the statutory School Admissions Code, to respond to changing local circumstances.
Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act, the government has introduced new duties on schools and local authorities to co-operate on admissions and place planning matters. The Act will also enable the adjudicator to specify changes to a school‘s PAN where they uphold an objection to that PAN. The department intends to update the School Admissions Code and associated regulations to implement this change, which will help ensure decisions about the number of places offered by schools take account of local circumstances, demand for places and the impact on the wider local school system, as well as school quality and parental choice.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average time taken by Ofsted to determine applications for registration as a supported accommodation provider has been since October 2023.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
These are matters for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member, and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications for registration as a supported accommodation provider are awaiting allocation to an Ofsted inspector.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
These are matters for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member, and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of delays in the registration of supported accommodation providers on the availability of placements for care-experienced young people in West Dorset.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Ofsted has seen increasing application volumes across children's social care. As of 31 March 2026, there were 370 ongoing applications from supported accommodation providers, down from 616 in the previous year. The registered supported accommodation sector grew by 37% in the year to 31 March 2026 with available capacity at 24,700 places, far exceeding the 7,520 looked after children living in supported accommodation. Published data does not indicate a lack of registered accommodation in the South West. In March 2026, places in registered providers in this region totalled 1,970.
Ofsted’s updated registration policy makes clear that, due to high demand, it is likely to take several months to reach a decision, with timescales affected by some factors outside Ofsted's control, such as incomplete applications. While Ofsted has introduced a prioritisation policy for new children's home applications, no such policy currently applies to supported accommodation, although this remains under review.
Ofsted registration is essential to ensure the appropriate safeguards and support are in place to keep children safe. Regulations do not require care leavers over the age of 18 to be accommodated in Ofsted regulated provision, though some care leavers will benefit from being in regulated provision. The government recently published a review of early deaths of care experienced young people and are working to deliver a programme of improved support for care leavers.