Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure enrichment activities for students in (a) school and (b) further education colleges are incorporated in the recommendations of the Curriculum Assessment Review.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer my hon. friend, the Member for Telford to the answer of 24 January 2025 to Question 24528.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to secure shared use agreements between schools and councils.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Many schools across the country will either allow others to make use of their facilities, or themselves be making use of land shared with their local communities. The department encourages schools to open their sites in this way. Shared use agreements or other arrangements to facilitate this are primarily a matter for local discussion between schools, their landowners and local authorities, who will all appreciate the individual local needs.
However, in specific circumstances, such as when a school converts to become an academy and the department is involved in agreeing how the academy will access land, the department can and will help schools and councils consider their options. Our good estate management for schools (GEMS) guidance also contains information for schools on allowing others to use their premises. More information about GEMS can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average length of paternity leave taken by staff in her Department was in each of the last three years.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The average length of paternity leave taken by employees of the Department for Education for each of the last three years is set out in the table below.
Year | Average Number of Calendar Days |
2022 | 18.7 |
2023 | 19.9 |
2024 (to date) | 19.9 |
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's population assumption is for Telford for (a) pre school, (b) primary school, (c) secondary and (d) SEND provision in each academic year from 2020-21 to 2025-26.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department collects and publishes forecasts made by local authorities of demand for primary and secondary pupil places from the annual School Capacity (SCAP) survey, which are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-capacity. Forecast data is generated by local authorities based on their own data and local knowledge. These forecasts are challenged extensively during data cleaning processes. As with any forecast figures, there will be variation between the forecasts and the subsequent actual pupil numbers, and the level of accuracy is expected to reduce as forecasts are made further into the future.
This information is published at local authority level, with the latest publication covering the period 2022/23 to 2027/28, available for Telford and Wrekin here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/3d7c2bc7-052b-43f5-e0cc-08dccd7b577b. Previous years can be found in earlier publications, all available on Explore Education Statistics. Data on special educational needs provision was collected for the first time in SCAP in 2023 and published as official statistics in development in 2024 within the aforementioned publication.
The department also publishes pupil population projections at national level and by school type annually, which are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/national-pupil-projections. The latest publication includes historic pupil populations, plus projected population to 2028. These projections are not available at local authority level.