Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the savings to the public purse made by cancelling the Latin Excellence Programme from March 2025.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The current contract for the Latin Excellence Programme, put in place by the previous government, is due to end on 28 February 2025. The Latin Excellence Programme has cost £2,071,000 to date since 2022. All schools on the programme will continue to have access to the programme’s curriculum resources and all students will sit their planned exams this summer.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the savings to the public purse made by (a) cancelling computing hubs and (b) changes to language hubs.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

Funding for hubs has been part of wider funding for the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) and the National Consortium for Languages Education (NCLE). Funding for the NCCE and NCLE will continue in the 2025/26 financial year. It is not possible to quantify how much money will be saved through reshaping the programmes because no spending baselines for individual programmes for 2025/26 and beyond were set ahead of the spending review.

NCCE and NCLE will continue to deliver high quality continuing professional development and teaching resources to support and enrich lessons which are expected to reach a greater number of teachers nationally compared to last year.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to language hubs on the (a) uptake of languages and (b) diversity of opportunities available to students at GCSE level.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The ongoing investment in the National Centre for Language Education (NCLE) in the 2025/26 financial year will continue to support the teaching of languages and increase participation in languages qualifications, including through continued professional development and new support models which are anticipated to reach more schools.

One of NCLE’s key aims is to increase access to home, heritage and community languages. It is, however, up to schools to decide which languages are taught as part of their curricula.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she will publish the impact assessments for the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The impact assessment was published on 30 January.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of cancelling the computing hubs programme on the number and proportion of pupils who are likely to receive grade A or above in A-level computing in each of the next 5 years.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department’s continued investment in the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) for the 2025/26 financial year will continue to support the teaching of computing, increase participation in computer science qualifications at level two and three, including from female students, and support computer science A level students in achieving high grades.

The NCCE will continue to deliver the ‘I Belong’ programme, which aims to improve schools’ awareness of the barriers to girls’ engagement with computing and supports them in taking a sustained course of action to improve the take up of computer science qualifications within their school.

The NCCE also delivers industry-led, virtual events for pupils which raise awareness of digital opportunities and careers in sectors such as cyber and artificial intelligence, and Isaac Computer Science, an online platform supporting GCSE and A level computer science students with revision support and careers information events. In the 2022/23 academic year, 98% of the 1,297 schools with computer science A level results used Isaac.

Due to the fiscal challenges inherited from the previous government, this government has had to make tough decisions across the public sector to get our finances back under control and to ensure we deliver on our priorities through our Plan for Change. Funding beyond the 2025/26 financial year will be considered through the upcoming spending review.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of cancelling the computing hubs programme on the uptake of computer science level (a) two and (b) three qualifications by (i) female and (ii) male students.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department’s continued investment in the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) for the 2025/26 financial year will continue to support the teaching of computing, increase participation in computer science qualifications at level two and three, including from female students, and support computer science A level students in achieving high grades.

The NCCE will continue to deliver the ‘I Belong’ programme, which aims to improve schools’ awareness of the barriers to girls’ engagement with computing and supports them in taking a sustained course of action to improve the take up of computer science qualifications within their school.

The NCCE also delivers industry-led, virtual events for pupils which raise awareness of digital opportunities and careers in sectors such as cyber and artificial intelligence, and Isaac Computer Science, an online platform supporting GCSE and A level computer science students with revision support and careers information events. In the 2022/23 academic year, 98% of the 1,297 schools with computer science A level results used Isaac.

Due to the fiscal challenges inherited from the previous government, this government has had to make tough decisions across the public sector to get our finances back under control and to ensure we deliver on our priorities through our Plan for Change. Funding beyond the 2025/26 financial year will be considered through the upcoming spending review.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils have made use of the National Centre for Computing Education’s Computing Hubs since their introduction in 2018.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The support offered by computing hubs is, for the most part, aimed at teachers only.

Hubs have also previously supported the National Centre for Computing Education's (NCCE) outreach programme aimed at pupils. NCCE will continue with outreach activity in 2025/26 continuing to raise awareness of careers in computing and digital. Data for the number of pupils who have attended hub outreach events since 2018 is not available.

The government will continue to fund the NCCE in the 2025/26 financial year to support the teaching of computing and increase participation in computer science qualifications.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many staff her Department plans to recruit into the Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellent teams; and by what date the team will be fully operational.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department’s first 20 RISE advisers are now in post and work has begun with the first RISE schools. The advisers will work alongside the department to help support schools break down the barriers to opportunity and end the link between background and success. A full list of these advisers has been published on GOV.UK.

In addition to the RISE advisers in post, the department launched a recruitment campaign for a full cohort of advisers to start in the spring and summer term. We will be informing candidates of the outcome of this campaign shortly. Workforce allocations for 2025/26 have not yet been set.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled School Accountability Reform – school profiles, improvement and intervention, published on 3 February 2025, whether schools due to receive structural intervention in early 2025 will still do so.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

Schools that are still due to convert and join a high-quality multi-academy trust or are due to move into a new high-quality multi-academy trust in early 2025 will do so.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of potential impact of Brighton and Hove City Council new schools admission policy on school children.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

This government believes admissions arrangements should be fair, lawful and support good outcomes for all children.

School admission arrangements are set and applied locally by the admission authority for each school. After providing highest priority to looked after and previously looked after children, it is for the council, as the admission authority for the community and voluntary-controlled schools in its area, to decide what oversubscription criteria to apply for places at its secondary schools and in what order the criteria are applied. The purpose of consultation is to provide the local community the opportunity to express any concerns that they may have about the proposed admission arrangements.

Admission arrangements must be fair, clear and objective, and comply with the school admissions code. To ensure that a school’s admission arrangements meet the needs of their local community, the admission authority is required to consult on them locally when making a change.

The consultation for Brighton and Hove City Council went live on 6 December 2024 and closed on 31 January 2025. The council is required to determine the final admission arrangements for September 2026 by 28 February 2025.

Once the council has determined their admission arrangements, anyone who feels they are unlawful or unfair may raise an objection to the schools adjudicator. Objections to admission arrangements must be referred to the adjudicator by 15 May in the year they were determined. The adjudicator’s role is to consider whether the admission arrangements and consultation comply with the school admissions code and admissions law. The adjudicator’s decisions are binding and enforceable.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with Brighton and Hove City Council on its proposed new school admissions policy.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has not had discussions with Brighton and Hove City Council on its proposed new school admissions policy.

When changes are proposed to admission arrangements, paragraphs 1.45 – 1.48 of the school admissions code require admission authorities to consult for at least six weeks with relevant parties. Brighton and Hove City Council held their consultation between 6 December 2024 to 31 January 2025. The council are then required to determine (agree) the final admission arrangements by 28 February 2025. Once the council have determined their admission arrangements they must publish a copy of the determined admission arrangements on their website by 15 March 2025.

Once the admission arrangements have been determined anyone who considers them to be unfair may raise an objection to the Schools Adjudicator. Objections to admission arrangements must be referred to the Adjudicator by 15 May 2025.

The Adjudicator’s role is to consider whether the admission arrangements and consultation comply with the school admissions code and admissions law.

The Adjudicator can only act on an objection that they have received through the correct channels. Information on how to object to an admission authority’s admission arrangements can be found on the Office of the Schools Adjudicator’s website, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-admissions-arrangements.

As Brighton and Hove City Council’s admission arrangements have not yet been determined, an objection cannot be raised.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to refer the proposed new Brighton and Hove City Council school admissions policy to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has not had discussions with Brighton and Hove City Council on its proposed new school admissions policy.

When changes are proposed to admission arrangements, paragraphs 1.45 – 1.48 of the school admissions code require admission authorities to consult for at least six weeks with relevant parties. Brighton and Hove City Council held their consultation between 6 December 2024 to 31 January 2025. The council are then required to determine (agree) the final admission arrangements by 28 February 2025. Once the council have determined their admission arrangements they must publish a copy of the determined admission arrangements on their website by 15 March 2025.

Once the admission arrangements have been determined anyone who considers them to be unfair may raise an objection to the Schools Adjudicator. Objections to admission arrangements must be referred to the Adjudicator by 15 May 2025.

The Adjudicator’s role is to consider whether the admission arrangements and consultation comply with the school admissions code and admissions law.

The Adjudicator can only act on an objection that they have received through the correct channels. Information on how to object to an admission authority’s admission arrangements can be found on the Office of the Schools Adjudicator’s website, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-admissions-arrangements.

As Brighton and Hove City Council’s admission arrangements have not yet been determined, an objection cannot be raised.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has received any (a) advice or (b) communication from the Office of the Schools Adjudicator on Brighton and Hove City Council’s proposed new school admissions policy.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has not had discussions with Brighton and Hove City Council on its proposed new school admissions policy.

When changes are proposed to admission arrangements, paragraphs 1.45 – 1.48 of the school admissions code require admission authorities to consult for at least six weeks with relevant parties. Brighton and Hove City Council held their consultation between 6 December 2024 to 31 January 2025. The council are then required to determine (agree) the final admission arrangements by 28 February 2025. Once the council have determined their admission arrangements they must publish a copy of the determined admission arrangements on their website by 15 March 2025.

Once the admission arrangements have been determined anyone who considers them to be unfair may raise an objection to the Schools Adjudicator. Objections to admission arrangements must be referred to the Adjudicator by 15 May 2025.

The Adjudicator’s role is to consider whether the admission arrangements and consultation comply with the school admissions code and admissions law.

The Adjudicator can only act on an objection that they have received through the correct channels. Information on how to object to an admission authority’s admission arrangements can be found on the Office of the Schools Adjudicator’s website, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-admissions-arrangements.

As Brighton and Hove City Council’s admission arrangements have not yet been determined, an objection cannot be raised.