Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2017 to Question 61379, what criteria her Department uses to assess the value for money of school closures.

School closure is managed on a case by case basis so the department does not publish formal criteria. When assessing the cost implications of a case we consider a range of factors. These factors could include: actual and projected pupil numbers for the school; the local demand for places and the capacity of provision in the local area to meet this; the quality of education provided by the school and any existing or projected deficit position.

The department’s priority in making decisions about the future of any school is to assess which option will deliver the best educational outcomes for local children so that all children should have access to good or outstanding schools whilst maintaining efficient and effective use of resources.