Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number of children who will receive free school meals as the result of the transitional protections associated with the April 2018 introduction of an earned income threshold of £7,400 for universal credit claimants in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department publishes statistics annually that detail the number of pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM). The latest data show that over 2 million pupils are eligible to receive this entitlement, which is 23.8% of all pupils. This is an increase from 1.1 million eligible pupils in 2018, when extensive transitional protections were first introduced. This has ensured that children in receipt of FSM will not lose access to this entitlement, even if their household’s financial circumstances improve.
In addition, this government has extended eligibility for free school meals several times and to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century, most notably through the introduction of universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) in 2014. The result of this is that over a third of pupils in England now receive FSM, compared with just one in six in 2010.
Data on the number of pupils eligible for FSM are based on information provided by schools in their census returns. This does not distinguish pupils who are only eligible as a result of protections, and no longer meet the eligibility criteria for FSM. The department monitors this information but does not have plans to make a formal estimate of the number of pupils who are eligible for FSM under transitional protections only.
Further to this, the department has always been clear that a child is only eligible for FSM if their family meets the eligibility criteria at the point of applying for FSM. The result may be that in some cases for children in the same household, some may be eligible for FSM whilst others are not. The department does not plan to make an estimate of this figure.
Further information is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics#dataBlock-2f5a67c4-6e66-414a-a926-f959d8b6443a-tables.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) education providers have been (i) investigated and (ii) inspected under section 96 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 and (b) unregistered schools have been identified in each year between 2015 and 2023.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Ofsted publish statistics twice a year on the number of those settings that have been investigated and inspected under section 96 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 since January 2016. The published statistics include information relating to the number of warning notices that been issued because of Ofsted inspectors concluding that an unregistered school may be operating on the premises.
The published statistics which cover each year since 2016 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/unregistered-schools-management-information.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent on advertising campaigns to (a) recruit new teachers and (b) bring retired and former teachers back to teaching in each academic year since 2015.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The attached table sets out total spend for teacher recruitment and returners advertising campaigns from the 2015/16 to 2022/23 academic years.
The objectives of the teaching advertising campaign are to raise the status of teaching and contribute to overall Initial Teacher Training numbers. Due to the often-lengthy candidate journey from initial consideration through to applying for and starting initial teacher training, several methods are used to assess campaign impact. They include regular brand tracking studies and other market research, econometric modelling to identify and quantify the factors affecting sign ups to the Get Into Teaching service, analysis of the flow of candidates between Get Into Teaching and the Find and Apply services, and tracking of site traffic to the Get Into Teaching website.
From financial year 2021/22 onwards, the department incorporated some paid search activity for returners into the recruitment budget.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 21 February 2023 to Question 140337 on Schools: Closures, how many additional state-funded schools have (a) temporarily or (b) permanently closed (i) all or (ii) part of their school site because one or more buildings were deemed unsafe in the period since February 2023; and which schools have been affected.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
It is the responsibility of those who run schools – academy trusts, local authorities and voluntary aided school bodies – to manage the maintenance of their schools and alert the department if there is a concern with a building. Local authorities and academy trusts do not need to report building closures to the department; therefore the department does not hold this data. The department does provide support on a case by case basis, working with the sector if it is alerted to a serious safety issue.
The government published lists of education settings confirmed as having RAAC as of 16 October 2023. The list is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-raac-management-information.
The department always puts the safety and wellbeing of children and staff in schools and colleges at the heart of its policy decisions.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many unregistered schools there are in England.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
An unregistered school is defined as a setting that is operating as an independent school without having registered with the department. It is a criminal offence under section 96 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 for a person to operate an unregistered independent school. The department does not therefore retain data about unregistered schools.
The department funds a joint team with Ofsted to target unregistered schools. Ofsted has powers under section 97 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 that allows for unannounced inspections of settings believed to be operating in breach of registration requirements. A team of inspectors are employed to identify, investigate and inspect any setting where there is evidence to suggest that an unregistered independent school is operating.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to retain teachers when they become parents.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Great teaching is transformational for children’s life chances, but the department cannot achieve its ambitions unless there are sufficient teachers. The department recognises there is more to do to ensure teaching remains an attractive, high-status profession, and to recruit and retain the best teachers. The department wants teaching to be an inclusive profession where all teachers, regardless of background or circumstance, are supported throughout their career journeys.
The department’s ‘Teacher Recruitment and Retention’ strategy, published in 2019, outlines the department’s approach to improving teacher retention, including activities which contribute to supporting teachers returning from parental leave or those with caring responsibilities.
Well-designed flexible working can enable individuals to reconcile work and caring responsibilities. The department is taking action to promote flexible working in schools, including by publishing non-statutory guidance and case studies on GOV.UK, a flexible working toolkit, and funding a programme focused on embedding flexible working in schools and Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs).
This programme includes the delivery of supportive webinars and peer support provided by flexible working ambassador schools and MATs. This funded programme offers practical support with combining flexible working life as a parent, including how flexible working can be navigated alongside career progression.
The department is also clear about the importance of efforts to reduce unnecessary workload and an improved wellbeing offer for all teachers. Workload is often cited as an important reason why teachers leave the profession. The department is supporting schools to act and remove unhelpful practice that creates unnecessary workload. The department’s school workload reduction toolkit, developed alongside school leaders, is a helpful resource for schools to review and reduce workload.
In September 2023, the department launched a workload reduction taskforce. The taskforce is made up of union representatives, experts and experienced practitioners. The taskforce will make recommendations to government, Ofsted and school and trust leaders by the end of March 2024.
Staff wellbeing is also crucial to the department’s commitment to recruit and retain more teachers and support teacher quality. The department has worked in partnership with the education sector and mental health experts to co-create the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter and is encouraging schools to sign up as a shared commitment to promote staff wellbeing. Over 3,000 schools and colleges have signed up to the charter since it was launched for sign-up in November 2021.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential financial implications of providing all kinship carers with a financial allowance equivalent to the national minimum fostering allowance in the context of potential savings to children services and other public services.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As part of the commitment outlined in 'Stable Homes, Built on Love', the department is exploring the feasibility of introducing a new financial allowance for kinship carers. Further details will be shared in due course.
The department is in the final stages of drafting its kinship strategy, which outlines plans to enhance support for all kinship families in England. This strategy will complement the existing support initiatives offered by the department, such as the peer-to-peer support service and the upcoming training and support programme set to launch next year.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much capital funding her Department spent on new SEND schools in each of the last five years.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has allocated a total of £1.9 billion in high needs capital funding to local authorities in England between 2018/19 and 2022/23. The department expects local authorities to use this funding to create new places and improve existing provision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) or who require Alternative Provision. Local authorities can provide these places by expanding existing mainstream schools, special schools, or other specialist settings, or through new special schools.
On top of this, the department has opened 61 centrally delivered special free schools since 2018/19. The capital spend for these schools cannot be readily broken down for the last five years.
In addition to the funding for new places, high needs revenue funding for children and young people with complex needs is increasing to over £10.5 billion in the 2024/25 financial year, an increase of over 60% from the 2019/20 allocations. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with SEND, including those in special schools.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much capital funding her Department allocated for new SEND schools in each of the last five years.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has allocated a total of £1.9 billion in high needs capital funding to local authorities in England between 2018/19 and 2022/23. The department expects local authorities to use this funding to create new places and improve existing provision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) or who require Alternative Provision. Local authorities can provide these places by expanding existing mainstream schools, special schools, or other specialist settings, or through new special schools.
On top of this, the department has opened 61 centrally delivered special free schools since 2018/19. The capital spend for these schools cannot be readily broken down for the last five years.
In addition to the funding for new places, high needs revenue funding for children and young people with complex needs is increasing to over £10.5 billion in the 2024/25 financial year, an increase of over 60% from the 2019/20 allocations. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with SEND, including those in special schools.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether specialist contractors have been appointed to carry out invasive structural assessment of system-built blocks approved in September 2022; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department is working with the sector to establish a research study of several system-built frame types to identify potential future issues.
The department is working with schools, responsible bodies, and potential contractors to enable these assessments to be carried out at 100 schools with a minimum of disruption and to provide research that will be widely applicable.
In establishing this research project the department considered the implications of disturbing hazardous materials, including asbestos. The department is taking time to ensure that safety measures are in place to continue to keep all students, staff, and the general public safe during these investigations, which has delayed the procurement timetable slightly.
The department expects that procurement will take place over the coming months and that the majority of the initial assessments will be undertaken over the easter and summer holiday periods of the 2023/24 academic year.