Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to provide support for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in London which have seen an increase in the number of pupils who are asylum seekers since 2021.

The Government is committed to providing a world class education system for all pupils and has invested significantly in education to achieve that.

All pupils, regardless of immigration status, are entitled to education between the ages of 5 to 16 and are free to apply for a school place at any time.

Asylum seeker pupils attract funding to their school in the same way as all other pupils. This is allocated through the schools National Funding Formula. In April 2022, the Department also permanently extended free school meal (FSM) and pupil premium eligibility to include pupils in households with no recourse to public funds, which includes children of asylum seekers. This approach to funding ensures that asylum seeker pupils attract the same basic per pupil funding amount as other pupils and any additional funding related to asylum seeking pupils’ specific needs and characteristics, such as pupils eligible for FSM, pupils with English as an additional language, and socioeconomic disadvantage.