Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding of secondary and primary schools in (a) Bury St Edmunds constituency and (b) Suffolk; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
We are determined to create a country that works for everyone. That is why we are delivering on our promise to reform the unfair, opaque and outdated school and high needs funding systems and introduce the national funding formula. Commencing in 2018-19, the national funding formula will allocate funding on the basis of the specific characteristics of every school and pupil.
For Suffolk County Council, the national funding formula means an increase in schools funding of 4.7% per pupil in 2018-19. Suffolk will also receive a 3.6% increase in its high needs budget in 2018-19, subject to technical adjustments made later in the year to reflect the latest data.
Allocations for 2018-19 for each local authority were confirmed on 19 December 2017 and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2018-to-2019. The allocations take into account the latest pupil numbers from the October 2017 census.
Schools in the constituency of Bury St Edmunds are attracting an additional 2.6% per pupil through the national funding formula in 2018-19. Their final budgets for 2018-19 will however be determined through the local formula set by Suffolk County Council.
Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeship places are available in (a) Suffolk, (b) East Anglia and (c) England and Wales; and how many such places are vacant.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The table shows the number of apprenticeship vacancies advertised on the official ‘Find an apprenticeship’ website, however there are a number of additional routes for an individual to apply for an apprenticeship, including directly to employers or training providers. Data is not collected on vacancies available via these routes.
Apprenticeship vacancies by region, as at 30 November 2016:
Region | Vacancies |
East Anglia | 720 |
Suffolk | 60 |
England | 24,050 |
Notes:
- Data is from the Find an apprenticeship website
- East Anglia contains the following Local Authority Districts: Babergh, Breckland, Broadland, Cambridge, East Cambridgeshire, Fenland, Forest Heath, Great Yarmouth, Huntingdonshire, Ipswich, King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Mid Suffolk, North Norfolk, Norwich, Peterborough, South Cambridgeshire, South Norfolk, St Edmundsbury, Suffolk Coastal, and Waveney
- Suffolk contains the following Local Authority Districts: Mid Suffolk and Suffolk Coastal
Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools hold academy status in (i) Suffolk, (ii) East Anglia and (iii) England and Wales.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The number of academies in East Anglia (Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire) and England are given below. These figures are correct as at October 2016.
| Primary | Secondary |
Suffolk | 67 | 35 |
Norfolk | 89 | 38 |
Cambridgeshire | 43 | 30 |
East Anglia | 199 | 103 |
England | 3,430 | 2,068 |
There are no academies in Wales. We routinely publish information on all open academies and academy projects in development and this can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-academies-and-academy-projects-in-development
Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) primary school places, (b) primary school age pupils on the roll, (c) pupils in excess of school capacity and (d) unfilled primary school places there were in Suffolk in academic year 2014-15.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The department collects information from each local authority on the number of schools, the number of places in those schools and the number of pupils on roll through the annual school capacity survey (SCAP).
The data is published annually. Data for May 2015 (relating to academic year 2014/15) can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-capacity-academic-year-2014-to-2015
As at May 2015, in Suffolk there were:
a) 59,140 primary school places
b) 52,169 primary school age pupils on roll
c) 329 primary pupils in excess of school capacity
d) 7,300 unfilled primary school places.
School capacities are as reported by local authorities for all school types, based on their knowledge of each school.
Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Key Stage 1 children in (a) Bury St Edmunds constituency, (b) Suffolk and (c) the East of England were in classes of more than 30 children in the academic year beginning September (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012, (iv) 2013, (iv) 2014 and (v) 2015.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The number of pupils in key stage one classes of more than 30 pupils for each of the years and locations requested is given below, along with the corresponding number of classes:
- | Bury St Edmunds Constituency | Suffolk Local Authority | East of England | |||
- | Number of Pupils | Number of Classes | Number of Pupils | Number of Classes | Number of Pupils | Number of Classes |
Jan-11 | 157 | 5 | 468 | 15 | 3,735 | 119 |
Jan-12 | 96 | 3 | 408 | 13 | 4,905 | 157 |
Jan-13 | 31 | 1 | 529 | 17 | 6,575 | 211 |
Jan-14 | 93 | 3 | 437 | 14 | 7,705 | 247 |
Jan-15 | 124 | 4 | 751 | 24 | 9,338 | 299 |
Jan-16 | 155 | 5 | 716 | 23 | 9,451 | 303 |
This information has been taken from the Local authority tables and underlying data of the ‘schools, pupils and their characteristics’ statistical release[1] for the corresponding year.
Of those infant classes with more than 30 pupils, roughly 95% of pupils are in classes of 31 or 32 pupils and larger classes are uncommon.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers
Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of (a) trends in the take-up of academy places and (b) the performance of academies in Bury St Edmunds constituency in the last five years.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The number of pupils on roll in the nine academies in the Bury St Edmunds Constituency for the years when they were open as academies from January 2012 to January 2016 is provided in the table below:
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
Bury St Edmunds County Upper School | 1009 | 993 | 957 | 978 | 987 |
Horringer Court Middle School | 296 | 272 | 307 | 356 | 371 |
Westley Middle School | 468 | 466 | 470 | 468 | 478 |
Priory School | 121 | 117 | 129 | 135 | 143 |
Tollgate Primary School | N/A | N/A | N/A | 224 | 273 |
Great Barton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 200 |
Rattlesden Church of England Voluntary Controlled School | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 123 |
Thurston Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 197 |
Woolpit Community Primary School | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 171 |
Source: School Census, January 2012 to 2016
The percentage of pupils achieving level 4 or above in reading, writing and maths at key stage 2 in 2012 to 2015 for academies with results in 2015 in the Bury St Edmunds constituency was as follows:
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
Horringer Court Middle School | 64% | 72% | 79% | 83% |
Westley Middle School | 67% | 70% | 80% | 78% |
Source: School Performance Tables
The percentage of pupils achieving 5 or more A*-C GCSEs (or equivalent) including English and mathematics GCSEs at key stage 4 in 2012 to 2015 for the academy with results in 2015 in the Bury St Edmunds constituency was as follows:
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
Bury St Edmunds County Upper School | 74% | 77% | 70% | 70% |
Source: School Performance Tables
There were no open academies in Bury St Edmunds constituency before August 2011 and no academy results before 2012. Key stage 4 results from 2014 reflect the removal of many equivalent vocational qualifications and other reforms.
Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children living in Bury St Edmunds constituency have been eligible to receive free school meals in each of the last six years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The number of pupils attending schools in Bury St Edmunds and known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals in each of the last six years is given in the table below:
Year | Number of Pupils on Roll | Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming FSM | % of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming FSM |
January 2011 | 17,436 | 1,328 | 7.6 |
January 2012 | 17,412 | 1,365 | 7.8 |
January 2013 | 17,270 | 1,515 | 8.8 |
January 2014 | 17,294 | 1,716 | 9.9 |
January 2015 | 17,510 | 1,618 | 9.2 |
January 2016 | 17,360 | 1,508 | 8.7 |
This information has been calculated from the underlying data of the ‘schools, pupils and their characteristics’ statistical release[1] for each corresponding year.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers
Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much (a) revenue and (b) capital funding has been provided per pupil in state (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in the county of Suffolk (A) in cash terms and (B) at 2015 prices in each financial year since 2005-06.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
Average per pupil revenue funding figures for Suffolk are given below. With the introduction of the dedicated schools grant (DSG) in 2006-07, the changes to the funding mechanism meant figures were no longer available to be shown split by phase of education.
Figures for financial years 2005 to 2013 are shown below. These are in cash terms:
Average revenue per pupil funding (cash) | 2005-06 (baseline) | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 |
Suffolk LA | 3,590 | 3,820 | 4,100 | 4,290 | 4,500 | 4,760 | 4,680 | 4,680 |
These are in real terms using September 2015 GDP deflators in 2014-15 prices:
Average revenue per pupil funding (real) | 2005-06 (baseline) | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 |
Suffolk LA | 4,410 | 4,560 | 4,760 | 4,840 | 4,960 | 5,100 | 4,930 | 4,840 |
Per pupil figures are using DSG allocations plus other schools related grants, e.g. school standards grant, school standards grant (personalisation), standards fund, and pupils aged 3-15 rounded to the nearest £10. Most of the additional grants were mainstreamed into DSG in 2011-12.
The changes to DSG funding in financial year 2013 to 2014 with funding allocated through three blocks, namely schools, early years and high needs, means there is no longer a comparable overall figure with previous years. The table below shows the DSG schools block unit funding figures in cash and real terms for Suffolk LA.
DSG schools block per pupil funding | 2013-2014 | 2014-2015 | 2015-2016 |
Suffolk LA (cash) | 4,241 | 4,241 | 4,354 |
Suffolk LA (real)* | 4,302 | 4,241 | 4,311 |
*Real terms figures shown in 2014-15 prices using GDP deflators at 30.09.15
Since 2011-12 schools have received the Pupil Premium which targets funding at pupils from the most deprived backgrounds to help them achieve their full potential. In 2011-12, the Premium was allocated for each pupil known to be eligible for Free School Meals, looked after children and children of parents in the armed services. In 2012-13 coverage was expanded to include pupils known to have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in the last six years. The amounts per pupil amounts for each type of pupil are shown in following table in cash terms:
Pupil Premium per pupil (£) | 2011-2012 | 2012-2013 | 2013-2014 | 2014-2015 | 2015-2016 |
Free School Meal Pupil Primary | £488 | £623 | £953 | £1323 | £1320 |
Free School Meal Pupil Secondary | £488 | £623 | £900 | £935 | £935 |
Service Children | £200 | £250 | £300 | £300 | £300 |
Looked After Children | £488 | £623 | £900 | £1900* | £1900* |
*Also includes children adopted from care
Total Pupil Premium allocations for Suffolk local authority for each year are shown in the following table in cash terms:
Pupil Premium Allocations (£ millions) | 2011-2012 | 2012-2013 | 2013-2014 | 2014-2015 | 2015-16 (prov.) |
Suffolk | 5.548 | 12.021 | 19.244 | 26.165 | 26.363 |
These figures in real terms:
Pupil Premium Allocations (£ millions) | 2011-2012 | 2012-2013 | 2013-2014 | 2014-2015 | 2015-16 (prov.) |
Suffolk | 5.851 | 12.450 | 19.519 | 26.165 | 26.102 |
Price Base: Real terms at 2014-15 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 30.09.2015
The table below shows capital funding for the financial years that are available. The data is in cash terms as allocations are phased across more than one year making real terms calculations meaningless. Complete information on the split of capital between phases of education is not held centrally.
Suffolk | |
£m | Capital allocations |
2005-06 | 41.7 |
2006-07 | 33.0 |
2007-08 | 42.5 |
2008-09 | 47.6 |
2009-10 | 86.4 |
2010-11 | 75.4 |
2011-12 | 45.2 |
2012-13 | 64.1 |
2013-14 | 53.4 |
2014-15 | 36.7 |
2015-16 (prov.) | 11.3 |
Notes:
1. Capital allocations includes capital grant and supported borrowing allocations.
2. Figures are rounded to the nearest £100,000.
3. Funding in 2015-16 is still subject to project progress and is therefore subject to change. The funding figures provided for 2015/16 only include formulaic programmes and payments to date. Further funding is yet to be released for capital programmes dependent upon project progress and this has not been reflected in the figures.
Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) primary and (b) secondary school students in (i) Suffolk and (ii) England and Wales have been funded by the pupil premium in each of the last five years.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The pupil premium was introduced in April 2011 and applies only in England. During the first year of its operation, only pupils who were currently eligible for free school meals (FSM) attracted pupil premium funding. From April 2012, the funding has been paid to schools for the number of pupils who have been eligible for FSM at any point in the previous 6 years.
Data which split the pupil premium into the primary and secondary phases of education are only available for the deprivation element of the premium. Information on deprivation pupil premium by primary and secondary year groups was first published in 2013/14. Total funding allocations were published for earlier years. The most useful data are provided in the tables attached.