Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the real-term funding per pupil in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in South Holland and the Deepings constituency was in each financial year since 2010.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Local authorities receive their core funding for schools through the dedicated schools grant (DSG). Local authorities are then responsible for designing a local formula, within certain parameters, to distribute the funding that they receive from the department to schools in their area. This local formula is used to determine funding for both the maintained schools and academies in each area.
As the DSG is allocated at local authority level, DSG allocations are not available broken down to the level of individual constituencies. The individual allocations that schools within South Holland and The Deepings constituency receive are determined, each year, by the local funding formula set by Lincolnshire local authority.
The table below provides the cash per pupil funding levels from 2018/19 to 2024/25 for Lincolnshire local authority. The department cannot provide comparable funding data back to 2010, due to the changes in the funding system since that time. In particular, funding for schools was only identified separately from funding for high needs or early years in 2013, and funding for central school services provided by local authorities was split out from the schools block funding in 2018/2019.
The figures below represent the core funding schools receive through the schools block of the DSG. All the figures in the table exclude growth and premises funding. They also do not include additional funding that schools have received for pay and pensions or other funding streams such as the pupil premium.
DSG Schools Block Per Pupil Funding: Lincolnshire Local Authority | ||
Year | Primary per pupil funding | Secondary per pupil funding |
2018/19 | £3,811 | £4,933 |
2019/20 | £3,914 | £5,069 |
2020/21 | £4,184 | £5,279 |
2021/22 | £4,570 | £5,724 |
2022/23 | £4,735 | £5,899 |
2023/24 | £4,993 | £6,216 |
2024/25 | £5,278 | £6,552 |
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many vacant state secondary school places there were in (a) Lincolnshire County Council and (b) South Holland and The Deepings constituency on 6 September 2024.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department does not hold data on places vacant on 6 September 2024.
Information on unfilled state secondary school places, as at May 2023, is published in the School Capacity statistics publication here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-capacity.
For ease, local authority level information within the publication for Lincolnshire local authority can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/62411dcf-5a26-4262-e175-08dccd7b577b.
School level information is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-catalogue/data-set/5f26c269-bf72-41ab-8292-e17b58ed7c98. This information can be aggregated to borough and parliamentary constituency level by linking to here: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.
In summary, for South Holland and The Deepings parliamentary constituency, there were 605 unfilled secondary school places (8%) in May 2023.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the number of teachers in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers in each school, is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england. As of November 2010, when the School Workforce Census began, there were 779 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in the 50 out of 51 state-funded schools that returned data in the South Holland and The Deepings constituency. In November 2023, there were 848 FTE teachers in South Holland and The Deepings constituency, when all 50 schools returned data.
The ratio of pupils to teachers (qualified and unqualified) has remained broadly stable in the South Holland and The Deepings constituency, at 18.7 in 2010 and in 2023 and ranging between 17.5 and 19.9 in the years in between.
The number of staff reported by state-funded schools in November 2023, including their constituency, is available in the school level summary file in the ‘Additional supporting files’ section of the statistical publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
The ratio of pupils to teachers and to adults by parliamentary constituency is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-catalogue/data-set/997087c9-5b1c-4635-b412-83b4bb0130a6.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which external stakeholders she met with ahead of revoking the second commencement regulations made under the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department engages with a wide range of stakeholders on policy decisions, and the views of external stakeholders from across the higher education (HE) sector continue to inform decision making on the future of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023.
As set out in the Secretary of State’s letter to colleagues and peers, the decision to pause implementation of the Act took account of the views of bodies representing university students and staff and also of Jewish groups, who feel that the Act is disproportionate, burdensome and damaging to the welfare of students and that it would expose HE providers to costly legal action, and that fear of sanction could push providers to overlook the safety and wellbeing of minority groups.
Ministers and officials in the department continue to meet with a full range of stakeholders representing not only HE providers, but also with academics with concerns about constraints on free speech. This engagement will feed into decision making on the future of the Act and the government’s longer-term policy on free speech in the HE sector.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of the planned new teachers will be allocated to schools in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
High quality teaching is the factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education. There are now 468,693 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state funded schools in England, but the government must do more to ensure it has the workforce needed to provide the best possible education for every child in all parts of the country, which is why the government has set out the ambition to recruit 6,500 new expert teachers.
The department is developing its approach so that it can be clear on its target and held accountable against that target, with a focus on key subjects and in places where it is needed most. The department will share further details in due course.
The first crucial step towards achieving this is to ensure teaching is once again an attractive and respected profession and teachers get the pay they deserve, which is why the government has accepted in full the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendation of a 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools from September.
The department is providing schools with almost £1.1 billion in additional funding in the 2024/25 financial year to support schools with overall costs. This matches what the department has calculated is needed to fully fund, at a national level, the teacher pay award, and the support staff pay offer in the 2024/25 financial year, after accounting for the overall available headroom in schools’ existing budgets.
Alongside teacher pay, financial incentives are one of the most effective ways to increase teacher supply, and the department is continuing to support teacher trainees with tax-free bursaries of up to £28,000 and scholarships of up to £30,000 in shortage subjects. To help with retention, new teachers of mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing, who are in the first five years of their careers, also receive retention payments if working in disadvantaged schools. In the 2023/24 academic year, 55 schools in the Lincolnshire Local Authority area were eligible for these retention payments.
To further help teachers stay and thrive in the profession, the department is also addressing teacher workload and wellbeing, and supporting schools to introduce flexible working practices. The Flexible Working Ambassador Multi-Academy Trusts and Schools (FWAMS) Programme offers support to schools across every region in England to help implement flexible working. Schools in Lincolnshire that are interested in receiving tailored peer support can contact the Hales Valley Trust, which is the Flexible Working Ambassador for the East Midlands.
The department has also established Teaching School Hubs across the country, which provide approved high-quality professional development to teachers at all stages of their careers. L.E.A.D Teaching School Hub and DRET Teaching School Hub are centres of excellence supporting teacher training and development across Lincolnshire.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she will take steps to regulate smartphone use for children.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In February 2024, the department published non-statutory guidance for schools on how to develop, implement and maintain a policy that prohibits the use of mobile phones throughout the school day. As has been the longstanding policy of successive governments, headteachers remain responsible for deciding how they choose to implement this policy.
The Online Safety Act protects children from accessing harmful and age-inappropriate content and ensures that technology companies take more responsibility for the safety of their users, particularly children.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to help small businesses take on apprentices.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Small businesses are important to the economy and to apprenticeships. This government will transform the skills system by developing a growth and skills levy so that opportunities, including apprenticeships, are available across the country and businesses of all sizes can meet their ambitions, fill their skills gaps and stimulate the economic growth that the country needs.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve recruitment and retention rates of teachers in schools in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
High-quality teaching is the factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education, therefore delivering the government’s agenda to break down the barriers to opportunity relies on a highly skilled workforce in schools.
There are now 468,693 full-time equivalent teachers in state-funded schools in England. However, the department needs to do more to recruit additional teachers, especially in shortage subjects in secondary schools, which is why the government has set out the ambition to recruit 6,500 new expert teachers.
Financial incentives are one of the most effective ways to increase teacher supply. The department’s initial teacher training financial incentives package this year is worth up to £196 million, including bursaries of up to £28,000 tax free for trainees in mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing. Although the minimum starting salary for teachers in Lincolnshire increased to £30,000 from 2023/24, the department knows fair pay going forward is key to ensuring teaching is an attractive and respected profession. This is why this government has accepted the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendation of a 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools from September.
The department is providing schools with almost £1.1 billion in additional funding, in financial year 2024/25, to support schools with overall costs. This matches what we have calculated is needed to fully fund, at a national level, the teacher pay award and the support staff pay offer in financial year 2024/25, over and above the overall available headroom in schools’ existing budgets.
Recruiting more teachers is a key part of the opportunity mission, but this government is also committed to tackling long-standing retention challenges to ensure teachers stay and thrive in the profession. This is why the department is continuing to support mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers, who chose to work in disadvantaged schools, through retention payments worth up to £3,000 after tax. For the 2023/24 academic year, teachers in 55 schools in the Lincolnshire local authority were eligible for these retention payments.
To further help retention, the department is also addressing teacher workload and wellbeing and supporting schools to introduce flexible working practices. Lapal School of Hales Valley Trust, as one of the department’s flexible working ambassador schools, is helping schools across East Midlands and Lincolnshire to introduce flexible working practices.
In addition, local teaching school hubs, including the L.E.A.D Teaching School Hub and DRET Teaching Hub, are supporting schools across Lincolnshire to deliver teacher training and development.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of SEND delivery in rural areas.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
For too long the education and care system has not meet the needs of all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with SEND or in alternative provision, including children in rural areas, receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department will be focusing on a community-wide approach to improve inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools and to ensure that special schools cater to those with the most complex needs. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and I will work with families and education and care experts to deliver this, in the best interests of all children.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether Ministers in her Department have met representatives of Black Lives Matter UK in the last five years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.