Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support schools in rural communities.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The department is making a significant investment in the core schools budget in the 2026/27 financial year, with an extra £2.3 billion for schools.
The schools national funding formula (NFF), which distributes funding for mainstream schools, accounts for the particular challenges faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factor. This funding recognises the financial challenges small and remote schools can face, such as fewer opportunities to find efficiencies, the significant role they play in the rural communities they serve and that without such, pupils could face long travel distances to attend school.
In the 2026/27 financial year, the sparsity factor provides eligible primary schools up to £58,600, and all other eligible schools up to £85,200. In addition to this, all small schools have benefited from the increase to core factors in the NFF in 2026/27, including the NFF lump sum set at £152,700. This provides a fixed amount of funding that is not affected by pupil numbers.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure school canteen food is locally sourced.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government remains committed to our ambition that half of all food served in public settings is either locally sourced or certified to higher environmental standards, and we are open to considering all lawful means of achieving this.
The school food standards allow school chefs and cooks creative freedom to adapt to the preferences of the children at their school, source seasonal or local food, and take advantage of price fluctuations. Presently, schools can voluntarily follow the government buying standards for food and catering, which includes advice around sourcing their school food.
The National Procurement Policy Statement already sets expectations for government contracts to favour products certified to high environmental standards that we think high-quality British producers are well-placed to meet.
The department is working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as they develop the Good Food Cycle vision.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that commissioning practices do not disadvantage Independent Fostering Agencies when identifying the most appropriate placement for a child.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Fostering is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The department recognises the impact that lengthy allegations investigations can have on foster carers and the children they care for. Through the proposed new Fostering Quality Standards, currently out for consultation, we are seeking to improve the allegations process to make it more proportionate and timely, while maintaining robust safeguards for children. The consultation will inform next steps on improving the allegations process for all foster carers, including those approved by independent fostering agencies.
We have launched an ambitious fostering reform programme that aims to create 10,000 additional foster placements by 2029. As part of this programme, our enhanced regional hub model is improving regional coordination and visibility of fostering capacity across local authority and non-profit independent fostering agency provision. This will help local authorities make better use of all available fostering provision when identifying the most appropriate placement for a child, while increasing fostering capacity across the sector so children can be matched with homes that best meet their needs.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the department plans to introduce national timescales for allegations investigations involving foster carers approved by independent fostering agencies.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Fostering is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The department recognises the impact that lengthy allegations investigations can have on foster carers and the children they care for. Through the proposed new Fostering Quality Standards, currently out for consultation, we are seeking to improve the allegations process to make it more proportionate and timely, while maintaining robust safeguards for children. The consultation will inform next steps on improving the allegations process for all foster carers, including those approved by independent fostering agencies.
We have launched an ambitious fostering reform programme that aims to create 10,000 additional foster placements by 2029. As part of this programme, our enhanced regional hub model is improving regional coordination and visibility of fostering capacity across local authority and non-profit independent fostering agency provision. This will help local authorities make better use of all available fostering provision when identifying the most appropriate placement for a child, while increasing fostering capacity across the sector so children can be matched with homes that best meet their needs.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking with the Department for Work and Pensions, to increase funding for music tuition for children from low-income families to match increases in the cost of lesson tuition at school music schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
This government is committed to ensuring that high-quality music education is not the preserve of the privileged few.
In the 2026/27 academic year, we will continue to invest £76 million revenue grant funding annually for the Music Hubs network, alongside continuing to invest £25 million capital funding for musical instruments, equipment and technology. The network provides services to schools, including group tuition, one-to-one tuition and instrument loans.
In the 2026/27 academic year, we are increasing means-tested bursary funding by £1.3 million to £37.8m for the Music and Dance Scheme to support around 2,100 high achieving young musicians and dancers to access to specialist performing arts education such as Chetham’s School of Music.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional funding has been allocated to local authorities to support pupils with special educational needs in the last three years.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers left the profession within five years of qualifying in the most recent year for which data is available.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
Information on the school workforce in England, including the vacancy rate for teaching posts and the retention rate for teachers in state-funded schools, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2024.
The teacher vacancy rate for full and part-time posts in secondary schools decreased to 6 per 1,000 teachers in service in November 2024, the latest figures available, from a peak of 8 per 1,000 teachers in November 2023.
Over two thirds (67.7%) of teachers who qualified in 2019/20 were still teaching five years later in 2024/25.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the vacancy rate is for teaching posts in secondary schools in England.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
Information on the school workforce in England, including the vacancy rate for teaching posts and the retention rate for teachers in state-funded schools, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2024.
The teacher vacancy rate for full and part-time posts in secondary schools decreased to 6 per 1,000 teachers in service in November 2024, the latest figures available, from a peak of 8 per 1,000 teachers in November 2023.
Over two thirds (67.7%) of teachers who qualified in 2019/20 were still teaching five years later in 2024/25.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of financial pressures on universities in England.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support universities with financial sustainability.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.