Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools (a) initially applied to be part of the universal primary school breakfast clubs pilot and (b) subsequently pulled out.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to offering a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England, beginning with the launch of an early adopter scheme in summer term 2025.
Schools were invited to express their interest in taking part by 20 December 2024. A list of participating schools will be published in due course.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people started apprenticeships at level (a) 2, (b) 3, (c) 4, (d) 5, (e) 6 and (f) 7 in each public service in each year since 2015.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Apprenticeship level was not collected by the previous government as part of the public sector data return.
The latest data on public sector apprenticeship new starts for the years it was collected can be found in the links below.
2023/24 financial year: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/680d7c76-ab1a-4fea-d82c-08dd4a33315d.
2022/23 financial year: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/ef860ba0-ea81-4edf-d82d-08dd4a33315d.
2017/18 to 2021/22 financial years: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/81667830-1958-49f0-d82e-08dd4a33315d.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's consultation entitled School accountability reform - school profiles, improvement and intervention, page 18, published on 3 February 2025, what estimate she has made of the number of schools which will require a (a) structural intervention and (b) targeted RISE intervention in the next three years.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s consultation document explained that, overall, we expect twice as many mandatory interventions in schools, through both structural intervention and targeted regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) interventions. This is expected to total around 370 schools experiencing mandatory intervention averaged annually over the next three years, based on the pattern of Ofsted inspections in recent years and based on the numbers of schools which already meet our proposed eligibility criteria but have not had structural intervention to date.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of staff in her Department are qualified teachers.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The information on staff teaching qualifications is not centrally held on the department’s HR system. Seeking the information across the department’s full workforce could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the cost to local government of implementing the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department has conducted initial new burdens impact assessments, in line with normal practice, for measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. Once the new burdens assessments have been finalised, where it is assessed there is a new burden on local government, all additional net costs will be funded by central government in line with the New Burdens Doctrine.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of providing free breakfast clubs in primary schools in each financial year to 2028-29.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department will fund schools to provide the new breakfast clubs.
The department published its funding methodology alongside guidance for early adopters on 16 January, and it has worked closely with schools on these rates to ensure they were sufficient for the ask.
Funding for national rollout is subject to the next spending review.
Funding rates for schools as part of the national roll out will be informed by learning from early adopters.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the annual cost of providing free breakfast clubs in every primary school will be.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department will fund schools to provide the new breakfast clubs.
The department published its funding methodology alongside guidance for early adopters on 16 January, and it has worked closely with schools on these rates to ensure they were sufficient for the ask.
Funding for national rollout is subject to the next spending review.
Funding rates for schools as part of the national roll out will be informed by learning from early adopters.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the total number of pupils who (a) have participated in the National Consortium for Languages Education’s language hubs since they were established and (b) currently use those hubs.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
There are currently 15 language hubs across England, typically comprising one lead school, working with seven partner schools and feeder primary schools, in addition to supporting wider networks of schools within their region.
The support offered by language hubs is aimed at schools and teachers only. Being enrolled at a school which is also a language hub does not therefore mean that a pupil is enrolled in, or directly accessing, the languages support the hub offers.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils are enrolled in a National Centre for Computing Education computing hub.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Computing hubs are embedded within individual schools which provide free computing continuing professional development (CPD), met a ministerially approved quality bar and are supported by the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE). 28 schools in England are currently part of a computing hub.
The support offered by computing hubs is, for the most part, aimed at teachers only. Being enrolled at a school which is also a computing hub does not therefore mean that a pupil is enrolled in, or directly accessing, the computing support the hub offers. The only support from computing hubs which is aimed directly at pupils is hub-run outreach events. In the 2023/24 academic year, over 3,700 young people attended an NCCE outreach event.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21364 on Further Education and Schools: Employers' Contributions, in which month her Department plans to pay the grant for the cost of national insurance.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Payment dates will be confirmed in due course.