Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the funding rate per pupil for (a) schools, (b) sixth-form colleges and (c) further education colleges was in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The schools National Funding Formula (NFF) calculates an allocation for every school, based on their individual pupil and school characteristics. The table below shows the average funding per pupil allocated through the NFF for England over the past five years. Per pupil funding excludes growth funding and individual schools’ actual allocations are based on Local Authorities’ local funding formulae.
Financial Year | Average per pupil funding through the schools NFF |
2018/19 | £4,585 |
2019/20 | £4,640 |
2020/21 | £4,828 |
2021/22 | £5,212 |
2022/23 | £5,358 |
The national funding rate per student for 16 to 19-year-olds and young people aged up to 25 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is the same for all institution types.
The table below shows the national funding rate for the last five academic years for a full-time student aged 16 to 19 and young people aged up to 25 with SEND.
Academic Year | National funding rate |
2018/19 | £4,000 |
2019/20 | £4,000 |
2020/21 | £4,188 |
2021/22 | £4,188 |
2022/23 | £4,542 |
The increase to the national funding rate for the 2022/23 academic year includes funding to roll in the Teachers’ Pay Grant with an equivalent uplift for other institutions, funding for the additional hours policy, and an affordable increase for inflation. Details related to the 2022/23 funding rate are available in published guidance, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/16-to-19-funding-information-for-2022-to-2023. Rates for all funding bands are published annually at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/funding-rates-and-formula.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish the research on the use of carbon dioxide monitors in schools referred to in his letter of 17 August 2022 to Geoff Barton, General Secretary, ASCL.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
The Department carried out a £25 million programme to improve ventilation in all education settings in the 2021/22 academic year. The Department provided over 386,000 CO2 monitors to state-funded early years, schools, and further education providers, to support them in being able to assess ventilation in their setting.
The Department has also provided over 8,000 air cleaning units to state-funded schools with poorly ventilated teaching spaces that cannot be otherwise remedied. Applications were assessed against strict criteria that were set out in guidance.
Regarding the question on publishing the research on the use of CO2 monitors, the Department already published research on the use of CO2 monitors on 24 January 2022 this year, with further information added to this release on 30 June 2022.
The full publication is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/co2-monitor-survey-and-applications-for-air-cleaning-units.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the impact of levels of (a) covid-19 in the general population, (b) staff absences and (c) pupil absences on the current guidance on covid-19 to schools and parents.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
The Government has moved to managing COVID-19 like other respiratory infections given the high immunity in society, a greater understanding of the virus and improved access to treatments.
The Department does not hold information on the potential costs to schools of supply teaching and support staff absences in the autumn term due to COVID-19. Head teachers are best placed to determine the workforce required to meet the needs of pupils and in the case of staff absence, in the first instance schools should follow their usual process for covering absences.
The Department previously collected data on staff and pupil absences through the Educational Setting status form (EdSet), which helped to support our response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Department is always mindful of balancing the need for data collections with the burdens we place on those collating it, and since the start of the 2022/23 academic year the EdSet form has been closed and schools are no longer being asked to complete it. Data on attendance in education settings during the COVID-19 pandemic can be found here: Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Week 30 2022 – Explore education statistics – GOV.UK (explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes weekly reports on the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 in private residential households, which can be found here: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey, UK Statistical bulletins - Office for National Statistics.
The Department have also been working to establish a better, more timely flow of pupil level attendance data across schools, trusts, local authorities, without placing any additional administrative burdens on schools. Most state-funded schools across the country have now signed up. This will allow data to be collected directly from all schools’ electronic registers and will help the department, schools, local authorities and trusts to identify pupils who need most support to attend.
Attendance reports will help schools and local authorities make better use of attendance data to identify those in need of support earlier, as outlined in the new attendance guidance. They will also help the Department respond to national and regional issues. A report on how the data is used can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/share-your-daily-school-attendance-data.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the ratio of (a) staff and (b) pupil absences compared to levels of covid-19 in the general population over the period of the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
The Government has moved to managing COVID-19 like other respiratory infections given the high immunity in society, a greater understanding of the virus and improved access to treatments.
The Department does not hold information on the potential costs to schools of supply teaching and support staff absences in the autumn term due to COVID-19. Head teachers are best placed to determine the workforce required to meet the needs of pupils and in the case of staff absence, in the first instance schools should follow their usual process for covering absences.
The Department previously collected data on staff and pupil absences through the Educational Setting status form (EdSet), which helped to support our response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Department is always mindful of balancing the need for data collections with the burdens we place on those collating it, and since the start of the 2022/23 academic year the EdSet form has been closed and schools are no longer being asked to complete it. Data on attendance in education settings during the COVID-19 pandemic can be found here: Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Week 30 2022 – Explore education statistics – GOV.UK (explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes weekly reports on the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 in private residential households, which can be found here: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey, UK Statistical bulletins - Office for National Statistics.
The Department have also been working to establish a better, more timely flow of pupil level attendance data across schools, trusts, local authorities, without placing any additional administrative burdens on schools. Most state-funded schools across the country have now signed up. This will allow data to be collected directly from all schools’ electronic registers and will help the department, schools, local authorities and trusts to identify pupils who need most support to attend.
Attendance reports will help schools and local authorities make better use of attendance data to identify those in need of support earlier, as outlined in the new attendance guidance. They will also help the Department respond to national and regional issues. A report on how the data is used can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/share-your-daily-school-attendance-data.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the potential costs to schools of supply teaching and support staff absences in the autumn term due to Covid.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
The Government has moved to managing COVID-19 like other respiratory infections given the high immunity in society, a greater understanding of the virus and improved access to treatments.
The Department does not hold information on the potential costs to schools of supply teaching and support staff absences in the autumn term due to COVID-19. Head teachers are best placed to determine the workforce required to meet the needs of pupils and in the case of staff absence, in the first instance schools should follow their usual process for covering absences.
The Department previously collected data on staff and pupil absences through the Educational Setting status form (EdSet), which helped to support our response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Department is always mindful of balancing the need for data collections with the burdens we place on those collating it, and since the start of the 2022/23 academic year the EdSet form has been closed and schools are no longer being asked to complete it. Data on attendance in education settings during the COVID-19 pandemic can be found here: Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Week 30 2022 – Explore education statistics – GOV.UK (explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes weekly reports on the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 in private residential households, which can be found here: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey, UK Statistical bulletins - Office for National Statistics.
The Department have also been working to establish a better, more timely flow of pupil level attendance data across schools, trusts, local authorities, without placing any additional administrative burdens on schools. Most state-funded schools across the country have now signed up. This will allow data to be collected directly from all schools’ electronic registers and will help the department, schools, local authorities and trusts to identify pupils who need most support to attend.
Attendance reports will help schools and local authorities make better use of attendance data to identify those in need of support earlier, as outlined in the new attendance guidance. They will also help the Department respond to national and regional issues. A report on how the data is used can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/share-your-daily-school-attendance-data.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications were there for places on the Higher Education Short Courses trial; how many and what proportion of these applications were accepted; and how many and what proportion of those that were accepted applied for (i) fee and (ii) maintenance loans.
Answered by Andrea Jenkyns
The Higher Education Short Course Trial is testing flexible short courses at 22 providers across England. These courses are brand new, and they will be rolling out over the 2022/23 academic year.
The nature of these short courses means they are not tied to the concept of the academic year and providers have discretion on when to deliver these courses. The department expects the majority of courses to start from January 2023.
At this early stage in the trial, the Student Loans Company (SLC) has received 12 applications for tuition fee loans to date.[1] However, we expect more students to be participating in these courses, as they can choose to self-fund or receive funding from their employers for their tuition fees.
Students apply directly to providers for these courses. The exact number of applications for Higher Education Short Course Trial courses is held by each individual provider.
Maintenance loans are not provided as part of the trial. However, those who need additional support may be eligible for the short course study-costs bursary.
The department will be monitoring the overall number of students on courses and the number of applications for loans at various points throughout the trial.
As a new type of learning, the department is expecting demand for short courses to increase over the course of the three-year trial, as more learners become aware of these opportunities and realise the benefits flexible learning can bring.
[1] Information provided by the SLC, correct as of 21/09/22.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of (a) recent and (b) anticipated rises in the energy price cap on school budgets; and if he will take steps to support schools with the increase in the cost of energy.
Answered by Robin Walker
School energy bills are not impacted by the energy price cap, as their energy contracts are commercial rather than domestic.
The department has surveyed all schools in England to get basic data on their current and future energy tariffs to better understand how they have been affected by recent energy price increases. The survey closed on 2 June 2022, and the responses will be used to understand the impacts of energy cost increases on schools and inform considerations of additional support the department could offer.
Cost increases should be considered in the wider context of funding for schools. The department is delivering a £4 billion cash increase in the core schools budget next year, taking total funding to £53.8 billion. This includes an additional £1.2 billion for schools in the new schools supplementary grant for the 2022/23 financial year. Overall, this represents a 7% cash terms per pupil boost, which will help schools meet the pressures we know they are facing, particularly around energy costs.
All schools can access a range of school resource management (SRM) tools to help them get the best value from their resources, save on regular purchases, and reduce non-teaching costs. The department’s SRM tools include recommended deals for energy costs and ancillary services relating to energy. The Get Help Buying for Schools service will also be able to offer support to schools in switching and entering new contracts. Guidance will be updated on a regular basis to inform schools of the market and commercial position, with practical advice on exiting existing and entering new contracts. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/buying-for-schools.
The department understands that every school’s circumstances are different, and where schools are in serious financial difficulty, they should contact their local authority or the Education and Skills Funding Agency.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the length of time it will take under the National Funding Formula for similar schools in different areas to receive parity of funding.
Answered by Robin Walker
Since its introduction in the 2018/19 financial year, the schools national funding formula (NFF) has distributed funding for mainstream schools in England fairly between local authorities. This is based on the individual needs and characteristics of schools and pupils. Local authorities then distribute that funding among their respective schools, using their own formulae.
Following last year’s ‘Fair school funding for all’ consultation, the department is moving to a direct funding formula for schools. The formula will complete the reforms to school funding which started when the NFF was introduced. A direct NFF will mean that the department determines funding allocations for individual schools without substantial local adjustment, on the basis of a single, consistent formula for the whole country.
Many local authorities have already moved their local formula to follow the NFF more closely. 105 out of 150 local authorities in England moved all of the values used in their local formulae closer to the NFF between the 2018/19 and 2021/22 financial years, or kept them within 1% of NFF values after allowing for the area cost adjustment. 73 local authorities are now mirroring the NFF funding factors almost exactly.
The department will start the process of transitioning fully to the direct NFF in the 2023/24 financial year by requiring that local authorities use all, and only, NFF factors in their local formulae. Local formulae factor values should move at least 10% closer to the NFF.
The department is not setting a definitive end date at which the direct NFF will be implemented. It will be important to continue to be guided by the impact of the initial transition towards the direct NFF, before deciding on the further pace of change. However, to give a sense of the likely timescales to inform schools’ and local authorities’ planning, the department is setting out that it expects to have moved to the direct NFF within the next five financial years, or by the 2027/28 funding year.
The department hopes that it will move to the direct NFF sooner than this. As we move to the direct NFF, individual schools’ budgets will continue to be protected, so that they do not suffer an excessive year-on-year reduction.