Asked by: Nick Gibb (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will list the free schools that have opened since 2011 by (a) type of school, (b) opening date and (c) closing date.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The department publishes information about open free schools, including the date they opened. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-academies-and-academy-projects-in-development.
On the Get Information about Schools site, it is possible, by using the filter of ‘free schools’ and ‘closed’ in a search function, to bring up a list of all free schools that are now closed. The site is available at: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Search?SelectedTab=Establishments.
Asked by: Nick Gibb (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) primary mainstream, (b) primary alternative provision, (c) secondary mainstream and (d) secondary alternative provision schools were academies on 4 March 2024.
Answered by Damian Hinds
As of 4 March 2024, there are 7,223 mainstream primary academies and 12 alternative provision primary academies. There are 2,867 mainstream secondary academies and 151 alternative provision secondary academies.
Asked by: Nick Gibb (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools were converted to (a) primary converter, (b) primary sponsored, (c) secondary converter and (d) secondary sponsored academies in each year from 2008 to 2023.
Answered by Damian Hinds
Between January 2008 and December 2023, 9,345 schools opened as primary converter academies, primary sponsored academies, secondary converter academies and secondary sponsored academies. A breakdown of this information by calendar year is given the following table:
| Primary | Secondary | ||
Converter | Sponsored | Converter | Sponsored | |
2008 |
|
|
| 47 |
2009 |
|
|
| 70 |
2010 | 25 |
| 68 | 68 |
2011 | 309 | 5 | 724 | 48 |
2012 | 423 | 171 | 366 | 76 |
2013 | 424 | 291 | 132 | 84 |
2014 | 393 | 264 | 68 | 56 |
2015 | 380 | 190 | 51 | 62 |
2016 | 545 | 148 | 64 | 34 |
2017 | 621 | 190 | 80 | 47 |
2018 | 604 | 162 | 64 | 44 |
2019 | 442 | 98 | 45 | 25 |
2020 | 198 | 59 | 21 | 17 |
2021 | 254 | 40 | 28 | 16 |
2022 | 258 | 44 | 22 | 13 |
2023 | 272 | 53 | 32 | 10 |
Table 1: Converter and sponsored academies opened between 2008 and 2023.
Asked by: Nick Gibb (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many free schools were opened in each year from 2011 to 2023.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The department publishes information about open free schools, including the date they opened. This information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-academies-and-academy-projects-in-development.
The attached table provides the number of free schools opened each year from 2011 to 2023. This includes primary, secondary, all through and 16-19 age ranges of the following types of free schools: mainstream free schools, alternative provision free schools, special free schools and specialist maths schools. University technical colleges and Studio schools have been listed separately.
Asked by: Nick Gibb (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils were entered for GCSE qualifications in (a) English Literature, (b) French, (c) Spanish, (d) German, (e) Italian, (f) History, (g) Geography, (h) Art & Design, (i) Music, (j) Drama, (k) Religious Education, (l) Combined Science, (m) Chemistry, (n) Physics, (o) Biology, (p) Computer Science in each year from 2008 to 2023.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The number of GCSE entries by pupils at the end of key stage 4 in the requested subjects can be found in the attached spreadsheet.
Asked by: Nick Gibb (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress he has made in moving from a National Funding Formula for schools to a direct funding formula.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
The Government remains firmly committed to completing our reforms to the national school funding system, and introducing a direct national funding formula.
This will mean that each mainstream school is allocated funding on the same basis, wherever it is in the country, and every child can be given the same opportunities, based on a consistent assessment of their needs.
The Department is moving carefully towards the direct national funding formula over the coming years, working with the sector to ensure that the transition is a smooth one. From 2023-24, local authorities will have to move their own funding formulae closer to the national funding formula as part of our step-by-step approach to transition. Local minimum funding guarantee protections will remain in place to maintain stability for schools and protect them from sudden drops in pupil-led per-pupil funding.
We are also continuing to develop the schools national funding formula to allocate funding nationally in line with our recent consultation: https://consult.education.gov.uk/funding-policy-unit/implementing-the-direct-national-funding-formula/supporting_documents/Implementing%20the%20direct%20national%20funding%20formula%20%20government%20consultation.pdf. The Department's response will be published in due course.
The Department will also provide an update on the Schools Bill in due course.
Asked by: Nick Gibb (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the form entitled Model articles of association for academy trusts, published on 3 January 2013, whether it remains his policy that the maximum aggregate number of votes exercisable by local authority associated persons should not exceed 19.9 per cent of the total number of votes exercisable by Members in general meeting.
Answered by Will Quince
The most recent model articles of association for use by mainstream academies, last updated on 30 June 2021 states:
“Notwithstanding the number of Members from time to time, the maximum aggregate number of votes exercisable by Local Authority Associated Persons shall never exceed 19.9% of the total number of votes exercisable by Members in general meeting and the votes of the other Members having a right to vote at the meeting will be increased on a pro-rata basis.”
This remains the department’s policy position, and we have no plans to change this approach for most types of academy trusts.
The department is testing an approach to allow local authorities to establish new multi academy trusts, where there is a need, to which the above limit on local authority Associated Persons shall not apply. We will, however, require at least one member to be independent of any association with the local authority. We will work with a small number of local authorities to test the concept. Local authority-established multi-academy trusts will be subject to the same oversight and, where necessary, intervention as all trusts. More information about this policy can be found in the registration of interest document, here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-established-mats-registration-of-interest.
Asked by: Nick Gibb (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what current contracts (a) his Department and (b) each of his Department's executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies hold with the educational testing service or any of that organisation's subsidiaries.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The Department and agencies have no current contracts with the educational testing service or its subsidiaries.
Asked by: Nick Gibb (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 April 2014, Official Report, column 205W, on primary education: admissions, and of 6 March 2014, Official Report, column 904W, on academies, regarding primary school admissions from nursery schools, if he will make it his policy to reject the Chief Schools Adjudicator's recommendation to issue further guidance for admission authorities and instead amend the admissions code to enable primary schools to create all-through primary schools that include the years prior to reception.
Answered by David Laws
The School Admissions Code does not prevent a school from becoming an all-through primary school for children aged 2 or 3 to age 11. It does, however, prevent schools from giving priority for reception places to children who have been admitted to the nursery class unless they can do so fairly and without disadvantaging children whose parents choose other forms of early education.
Ministers are considering the Chief Schools Adjudicator's recommendation that they issue further guidance for admission authorities so that there is fair access to schools for all children.
We take fair access very seriously but also want to explore the incentives for schools to use their expertise to enhance early years education.
Asked by: Nick Gibb (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether Ofsted's interpretation of closing the attainment gap between pupils eligible and not eligible for free school meals relates to the gap in attainment nationally or in the school being inspected.
Answered by David Laws
This question is a matter for Ofsted. I have asked Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, to write to the hon. Member. A copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.