Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will estimate the costs of establishing a pilot initiative based across two or more locally authority areas make provision for children who were born prematurely in the summer months to provide flexibility around timing of school entry to summer-born children in order to gather evidence to inform implementation of the School Admissions Code policy changes.

We are currently undertaking evidence gathering and analysis to estimate the potential costs of providing more flexibility for summer born children. This is complex and it is important that we take the time to consider how to implement any possible changes and what new arrangements we might put in place. Any changes we do make will be subject to a full statutory process.