Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to engage with independent schools to extend the use of their sport and recreation facilities with local communities to demonstrate that they are creating dual use and public benefit.

The department continues to encourage new partnerships to form between independent and state-funded schools. Whilst partnerships can cover a wide range of activities, many independent schools collaborate with local state schools and their communities by hosting joint events or sharing facilities. The 2020 Census by the Independent Schools Council (ISC), covering the period immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic, found that 87% of its member schools were involved in partnerships with local state schools. 30% of these reported sharing sports fields, 28% swimming pools, and 22% a concert hall or theatre.

As we continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the department encourages more schools to experience the opportunities of working in partnership in areas including, but not limited to, sharing facilities. For example, across teacher and curriculum development, governance and leadership, and other targeted forms of school improvement.

The department’s joint understanding with the ISC is designed to expand the participation of independent schools across other areas which help to demonstrate that sector’s commitment to its local communities, such as by encouraging schools to offer support targeted at children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The department welcomes the ISC’s efforts to increase participation, alongside charities such as the Royal National Children's SpringBoard Foundation and the School Partnerships Alliance. The department will continue to work together with these organisations to ensure that even more children benefit, irrespective of their backgrounds or the schools they attend.