Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the staffing budget for schools has been in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department does not allocate funding specifically for staffing. Schools are best placed to make decisions about how to use their funding to deliver the best outcomes for their pupils.
The total funding allocated through the schools block of the dedicated schools grant in each of the last five years is shown below:
Year | Dedicated schools grant, |
2014-15 | £30,655 |
2015-16 | £32,168 |
2016-17 | £32,650 |
2017-18 | £33,094 |
2018-19 | £33,684[1] |
[1] This figure is not directly comparable to previous years as the central schools services block was introduced in 2018-19. Prior to 2018-19, much of that funding was provided through the schools block. Re-baselining was carried out in this year due to the introduction of the national funding formula, which led to some funding movements between blocks.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department made on potential merits of including sailing on the national curriculum for Physical Education.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The national curriculum sets out the aspects of physical education that should be taught to pupils. It does not stipulate that particular sports should be taught.
The department published subject content for reformed physical education GCSE, AS and A levels in England in January 2015. Both sets of subject content include a list of activities in which students can be assessed. On 24 October 2018, the department launched a review inviting proposals to add activities to the list. This review can be accessed at: https://consult.education.gov.uk/gcse-and-alevel-reform/review-of-gcse-as-and-a-level-physical-education-a/.
The deadline for responses is 20 December 2018.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on the number of pupils (a) entitled to and (b) not entitled to free school meals who achieved (i) AAA, (ii) AAB and (iii) ABB grades at A-level in the last five years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The number of students, at the end of Key Stage 5, achieving A*-B grades in A levels, split by Free School Meal status, is provided in the attached table.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on the ethnic background of pupils who achieved (a) AAA, (b) AAB and ABB grades at A-level in the last five years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The number of students, at the end of 16-18 study, achieving A*-B grades in A levels, split by ethnic background, is provided in the attached table.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many additional university places have been created at (a) Russell Group and (b) non-Russell Group universities since the lifting of the cap on undergraduate numbers.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
In 2013, the government announced that the student number controls at publicly-funded higher education institutions in England would be removed by 2015/16. This was preceded by a relaxation of student number controls for AAB students, who were made exempt from 2012/13, and ABB students, who were exempt from 2013/14.
Student number controls applied to full-time undergraduate students at English higher education institutions who were domiciled in the UK or European Union prior to study.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes statistics on students enrolled in higher education institutions in England. Time series for UK and EU domiciled full-time undergraduate entrants at Russell Group and non-Russell Group higher education institutions in England have been provided in the table below.
UK and EU domiciled full-time undergraduate entrants by provider group
English Higher Education Institutions
Academic years 2013/14 to 2016/17
| 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 |
Russell Group | 79,135 | 82,075 | 87,145 | 89,415 |
Non-Russell Group | 283,775 | 291,875 | 300,465 | 306,070 |
Total | 362,910 | 373,950 | 387,610 | 395,485 |
Source: HESA Student Record 2013/14 to 2016/17
Note:
(1) Figures in this table are rounded to the nearest multiple of five.
(2) Entrants refers to first year students.
The number of entrants is affected by the decisions taken by higher education institutions and applicants to these institutions; as such, this is likely to differ from the number of places available.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils who are (a) eligible and (b) not eligible for free school meals have taken up English Baccalaureate subjects in each of the last seven years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The number and percentage of pupils, split by their eligibility for free school meals, entering the English Baccalaureate in each of the last seven years is provided in the attached table.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information he holds on the (a) number of pupils in each ethnic group who have taken subjects in the English Baccalaureate and (b) grades that those pupils have achieved since the introduction of that qualification.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The number and percentage of pupils, split by ethnicity, entering and achieving the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) in each of the last seven years is provided in the attached table. The Department did not publish EBacc entries and achievements, split by pupil characteristics, in the period 2009 to 2010.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of Friday 26 January 2018 to Question 123604, on Special Educational Needs, if he will publish the ministerial letters sent to local authorities inspected under the Ofsted/Care Quality Commission Special Educational Needs and Disability inspection framework, that had significant weaknesses; and what steps are being taken to monitor the progress of those local authorities that were not required to produce a Written Statement of Action.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The department’s policy is for ministers to write to local authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups in all local areas shortly after the publication of their inspection report. Ministers write again, a year later, to areas where inspectors identified significant concerns, to reflect on the progress made. These letters form part of our work to support and challenge the work of local leaders as they improve services; and to recognise where services have improved.
We have no plans to publish these letters, which are copied to all relevant MPs and the Leader of the Council, but they are intended for public use. In areas where inspectors identified significant concerns, we copy the letters to all relevant MPs and the Leader of the Council. We encourage local council leaders to share the letters with their partners, including parents, to inform and support their work to improve services. Some areas, for example, Rochdale and Surrey, have published these ministerial letters and I would encourage others to do the same.
We have been encouraged by the commitment of council leaders to using the local area Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) inspections as a catalyst to improve services. The government recently provided a further £29 million (in addition to £223 million since 2014) to support local authorities with ongoing implementation of the SEND reforms. The department will also continue to provide funding of £2.3 million per year for parent carer forums in 2018-19 and 2019-20, as well as specialist SEND advisers to work directly with local authorities, to hold services to account and support them to improve.
In those local areas where inspectors have not requested a written statement of action, we follow up on the strengths and areas for development as part of on-going local area performance monitoring. We also draw on a wide range of intelligence, including surveys; research; and feedback, including from parents and the specialist SEND advisers. Where local area performance, such as the commissioning of services, is a particular concern, officials work closely with partners, including the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, to engage jointly with local areas to provide support and challenge.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of Tuesday 27 March 2018 to Question 133298, on Schools: Southampton, what the pupil-teacher ratio, including teaching assistants, is in each state-funded (a) primary and (b) secondary school in Southampton Itchen constituency.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The attached table provides the average pupil to teacher/teaching assistant ratio in each state funded primary and secondary school in Southampton Itchen constituency in November 2016 the latest year available. November 2017 figures will be available in the summer.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the pupil-teacher ratio, including teaching assistants, is in schools in Southampton.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The following table provides the average pupil to teacher/teaching assistant ratio in state funded schools in Southampton local authority area and England in November 2016 the latest year available.[1] November 2017 figures will be available in the summer.
| State Funded Schools[2] | |
| Southampton | England |
2016 | 10.2 | 11.1 |
Source: School Workforce Census |
[1] The within-school Pupil:Teacher/Teaching Assistant Ratio (qualified and unqualified teachers) is calculated by dividing the total FTE number of pupils on roll in schools in each year by the total number of FTE teachers and FTE teaching assistants in schools in each year. Where schools are not open on Census (January) they are excluded. See School Workforce Census methodology document for further information: Methodology: SFR25/2017
[2] Excludes centrally employed staff.