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1712873

registered interest
date	22/04/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Educational Visits: Theatres
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to take steps to ensure that pupils from low income families are able to participate in school visits to theatres.
tabling member constituency	Nottingham East
tabling member printed	Nadia Whittome
uin	23074
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2024 answer text <p>All state-funded schools should teach a broad and balanced curriculum that promotes pupils' cultural development. The best schools combine creative subjects with core subjects, and the department is committed to ensuring that all pupils have access to both.</p><p>Cultural education is therefore integral to a high-quality education. Alongside drama as part of the English curriculum and dance as part of the physical education curriculum, music and art and design, remain important pillars of the knowledge-rich National Curriculum.</p><p>Drama is not an individual subject within the English National Curriculum, but it is an important part of a pupil’s school experience. The main introduction of drama to the primary programmes of study details the type of drama opportunities pupils should be given and acknowledges the artistic practice of drama. Teachers will use their professional judgement as to how and when such opportunities are created.</p><p>On 10 February 2017, the department announced an update to the content for the GCSE in drama and the A level in drama and theatre studies to specify that all pupils will now have the entitlement to experience live theatre, reaffirming the government’s commitment to providing pupils with an enriching arts education.</p><p>A parent’s income should not be a barrier to a pupil participating in a school trip. Schools may not charge for school trips that take place during school hours, or which take place outside school hours but are part of the National Curriculum, part of religious education, or part of the syllabus for a public exam that the pupil is being prepared for at the school. Parents can be asked for contributions towards the cost of a trip, but schools must make clear that contributions are voluntary. The published advice, ‘Charging for School Activities’, is clear that no pupil should be excluded from an activity simply because their parents are unwilling or unable to pay. The advice can be found at: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/706830/Charging_for_school_activities.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/706830/Charging_for_school_activities.pdf</a>.</p><p>Finally, pupil premium funding will rise to over £2.9 billion in the 2024/25 academic year. The increase will ensure that this targeted funding continues to help schools to support the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils. As set out in the menu of approaches, schools are able to use pupil premium to fund extracurricular activities, including school trips to theatres.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds grouped question UIN 23078 question first answered 25/04/2024 16:45:24 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4869 label Biography information for Nadia Whittome

1712878

registered interest
date	22/04/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Educational Visits: Theatres
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure every (a) primary and (b) secondary pupil in England can visit the theatre at least once in their school career.
tabling member constituency	Nottingham East
tabling member printed	Nadia Whittome
uin	23078
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2024 answer text <p>All state-funded schools should teach a broad and balanced curriculum that promotes pupils' cultural development. The best schools combine creative subjects with core subjects, and the department is committed to ensuring that all pupils have access to both.</p><p>Cultural education is therefore integral to a high-quality education. Alongside drama as part of the English curriculum and dance as part of the physical education curriculum, music and art and design, remain important pillars of the knowledge-rich National Curriculum.</p><p>Drama is not an individual subject within the English National Curriculum, but it is an important part of a pupil’s school experience. The main introduction of drama to the primary programmes of study details the type of drama opportunities pupils should be given and acknowledges the artistic practice of drama. Teachers will use their professional judgement as to how and when such opportunities are created.</p><p>On 10 February 2017, the department announced an update to the content for the GCSE in drama and the A level in drama and theatre studies to specify that all pupils will now have the entitlement to experience live theatre, reaffirming the government’s commitment to providing pupils with an enriching arts education.</p><p>A parent’s income should not be a barrier to a pupil participating in a school trip. Schools may not charge for school trips that take place during school hours, or which take place outside school hours but are part of the National Curriculum, part of religious education, or part of the syllabus for a public exam that the pupil is being prepared for at the school. Parents can be asked for contributions towards the cost of a trip, but schools must make clear that contributions are voluntary. The published advice, ‘Charging for School Activities’, is clear that no pupil should be excluded from an activity simply because their parents are unwilling or unable to pay. The advice can be found at: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/706830/Charging_for_school_activities.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/706830/Charging_for_school_activities.pdf</a>.</p><p>Finally, pupil premium funding will rise to over £2.9 billion in the 2024/25 academic year. The increase will ensure that this targeted funding continues to help schools to support the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils. As set out in the menu of approaches, schools are able to use pupil premium to fund extracurricular activities, including school trips to theatres.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds grouped question UIN 23074 question first answered 25/04/2024 16:45:24 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4869 label Biography information for Nadia Whittome

1712905

registered interest
date	22/04/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Mid Bedfordshire
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has given to (a) schools in Mid Bedfordshire and (b) Galliford Try in relation to the PFI contract between Central Bedfordshire Council and Galliford Try in each of the last 10 years.
tabling member constituency	Mid Bedfordshire
tabling member printed	Alistair Strathern
uin	23083
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2024 answer text <p>The Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools PFI contract covers two schools and was signed on 22<sup>nd</sup> December 2003.</p><p>The department’s private finance initiative (PFI) Revenue Support Grant (RSG) funding for the Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools Project is paid to the Local Authority, Central Bedfordshire Council, rather than directly to schools. No payments are made by the department to Bedfordshire Schools Trust Ltd in relation to the Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools PFI contract. The department has paid PFI RSG funding of £1,886,314 for each of the last ten years from 2014/15 to 2023/24 to Central Bedfordshire Council. All payments under Mid Bedfordshire Schools PFI Project to Bedfordshire Schools Trust Ltd are made by Central Bedfordshire Council.</p><p>The department supports local authorities that entered schools PFI contracts by providing Revenue Support Grant funding for the term of the PFI contract, which is normally 25 years. Central Bedfordshire Council, as the contracting party to Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools Project PFI agreement, combines RSG grant funding from the department, plus additional funds from their own resources, to pay the PFI unitary charge to the contractor. The schools within each PFI contract ordinarily contribute towards the cost of the facilities. This applies equally to maintained schools and to academies.</p><p>The department also supports schools that have unavoidable extra premises costs related to their PFI contracts through the ‘PFI factor’ in the schools national funding formula (NFF). This funding is paid out to local authorities through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) and is then allocated to schools by local authorities through their own local formulae.</p><p>The PFI factor only covers unavoidable extra premises costs, primarily related to the building itself. Costs which all schools face, such as facilities management and energy costs should be covered by the funding schools receive from the other formula factors in their local authority’s funding formula.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds grouped question UIN 23084 question first answered 25/04/2024 16:46:10 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	5000 label Biography information for Alistair Strathern

1712906

registered interest
date	22/04/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Local Government and Schools: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department provides financial support to (a) schools, (b) academy trusts and (c) local authorities for the cost of (i) overheads and (ii) maintenance required under the terms of private finance initiative contracts.
tabling member constituency	Mid Bedfordshire
tabling member printed	Alistair Strathern
uin	23084
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2024 answer text <p>The Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools PFI contract covers two schools and was signed on 22<sup>nd</sup> December 2003.</p><p>The department’s private finance initiative (PFI) Revenue Support Grant (RSG) funding for the Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools Project is paid to the Local Authority, Central Bedfordshire Council, rather than directly to schools. No payments are made by the department to Bedfordshire Schools Trust Ltd in relation to the Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools PFI contract. The department has paid PFI RSG funding of £1,886,314 for each of the last ten years from 2014/15 to 2023/24 to Central Bedfordshire Council. All payments under Mid Bedfordshire Schools PFI Project to Bedfordshire Schools Trust Ltd are made by Central Bedfordshire Council.</p><p>The department supports local authorities that entered schools PFI contracts by providing Revenue Support Grant funding for the term of the PFI contract, which is normally 25 years. Central Bedfordshire Council, as the contracting party to Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools Project PFI agreement, combines RSG grant funding from the department, plus additional funds from their own resources, to pay the PFI unitary charge to the contractor. The schools within each PFI contract ordinarily contribute towards the cost of the facilities. This applies equally to maintained schools and to academies.</p><p>The department also supports schools that have unavoidable extra premises costs related to their PFI contracts through the ‘PFI factor’ in the schools national funding formula (NFF). This funding is paid out to local authorities through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) and is then allocated to schools by local authorities through their own local formulae.</p><p>The PFI factor only covers unavoidable extra premises costs, primarily related to the building itself. Costs which all schools face, such as facilities management and energy costs should be covered by the funding schools receive from the other formula factors in their local authority’s funding formula.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds grouped question UIN 23083 question first answered 25/04/2024 16:46:10 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	5000 label Biography information for Alistair Strathern

1702133

registered interest
date	18/04/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria her Department uses to assess the adequacy of funding for each school (a) nationally and (b) in York.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	22580
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2024 answer text <p>This government is committed to providing a world class education system for all children and has invested significantly in education to achieve that.</p><p> </p><p>Including the additional funding for teachers’ pay and pensions, funding for both mainstream schools and high needs is £2.9 billion higher in 2024/25, compared to 2023/24. The overall core school budget will total £60.7 billion in 2024/25, which is the highest ever level in real terms per pupil. This means school funding is set to have risen by £11 billion by 2024/25, compared to 2021/22.</p><p> </p><p>Each year, the government publishes an assessment of schools’ costs and funding increases in the Schools’ Costs Technical Note. In the most recent publication, the department’s analysis shows mainstream school funding rising by 7.6% in 2023/24 compared to the previous year, while costs were estimated to have risen by 6.7% at the national level. This analysis reflects averages across all schools in England.</p><p> </p><p>Through the Dedicated Schools Grant, York is receiving an extra £2.0 million for mainstream schools in 2024/25 compared to 2023/24, taking total school funding to over £125.5 million. This represents an increase of 2.0% per pupil compared to 2023/24, and an increase of 13.4% per pupil compared to 2021/22 (excluding growth funding). On top of this, all schools will receive additional funding through the Teachers’ Pay Additional Grant and Teachers' Pension Employer Contribution Grant.</p><p> </p><p>The precise funding and cost increases that individual schools in York, and across the country, will face depend on each school’s unique circumstances and the decisions that it has made about how to deploy its funding. The national funding formula is designed to fund each school according to its relative needs, and is updated annually to reflect how those needs change over time.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 23/04/2024 16:38:23 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1701774

registered interest
date	17/04/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Suffolk Coastal
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the transparency data entitled School rebuilding programme: schools in the programme, update on 8 February 2024, how much funding her Department has (a) allocated and (b) distributed to each school selected in Suffolk Coastal constituency in the latest period for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Suffolk Coastal
tabling member printed	Dr Thérèse Coffey
uin	22301
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2024 answer text <p>There is one school selected for the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) in the Suffolk Coastal constituency. This is Farlingaye High School.</p><p> </p><p>The SRP is a centrally delivered programme. Therefore, no funding is allocated or distributed directly to schools. Once contracts are awarded for building works, they are published on the Contracts Finder within 30 calendar days. The Contracts Finder can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder</a>.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 25/04/2024 16:45:58 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey

1701775

registered interest
date	17/04/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Department for Education and Student Loans Company: ICT
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the policy paper entitled Transforming for a digital future: 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data, updated on 29 February 2024, when her Department first assessed each of the red-rated legacy IT systems in her Department and in the Student Loans Company to be red-rated.
tabling member constituency	Leicester South
tabling member printed	Jonathan Ashworth
uin	22311
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2024 answer text <p>The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO), in the Cabinet Office, has established a programme to support departments managing legacy IT. CDDO has agreed a framework to identify ‘red-rated’ systems, indicating high levels of risk surrounding certain assets within the IT estate. Departments have committed to have remediation plans in place for these systems by next year (2025).</p><p>It is not appropriate to release sensitive information held about specific red-rated systems or more detailed plans for remediation within the department’s IT estate, as this information could indicate which systems are at risk, and may highlight potential security vulnerabilities.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 25/04/2024 16:23:51 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4244 label Biography information for Jonathan Ashworth

1701789

registered interest
date	17/04/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the shortage of ADHD medication on students during the upcoming exam season; and whether her Department has had discussions with (a) examination boards and (b) schools on mitigation measures.
tabling member constituency	Twickenham
tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
uin	22405
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2024 answer text <p>The department is aware of the current difficulties some students are facing in obtaining medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The department has not held discussions with examination boards specific to this.</p><p>There are established arrangements in place that schools and colleges will be familiar with, which should be used to arrange any reasonable adjustments or access arrangements for students with disabilities.</p><p>The Equality Act 2010 requires examination boards to make reasonable adjustments where a disabled person would be at a substantial disadvantage in undertaking an assessment. Reasonable adjustments are changes made to exams or assessments, or to the way they are conducted, to mitigate the risk that a disabled person would be at a substantial disadvantage in undertaking an assessment. They are needed because some disabilities can make it harder for students to show what they know, understand and can do in an assessment, than it would be had the student not been disabled. The exam or assessment must still test the same knowledge, skills and understanding for that qualification.</p><p>If a student’s need has changed or they need a reasonable adjustment that has not been applied for, the school or college should contact the relevant awarding organisation as soon as possible.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 25/04/2024 12:33:02 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson

1701904

registered interest
date	17/04/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Teachers: Recruitment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of funding for subject knowledge enhancement programmes for (a) primary maths, (b) design and technology, (c) English, (d) biology and (e) religious education on the future recruitment of student teachers in those subjects.
tabling member constituency	Warwick and Leamington
tabling member printed	Matt Western
uin	22351
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2024 answer text <p>The department reviews all policies, including subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses, on a regular basis to adapt its approach to attracting new teachers where needed and to ensure that interventions are focused where they will have the most positive impact for children and young people.</p><p>When reviewing the SKE package for the remainder of the 2023/24 academic year, factors including teacher supply needs, the volume of SKE participants associated with each subject and the relative recruitment to Initial Teacher Training (ITT) were all taken into account to ensure that the department is targeting funding where it is needed most.</p><p>The department remains committed to recruiting the teachers it needs. The ITT financial incentives package for the 2024/25 recruitment cycle is worth up to £196 million, which is a £15 million increase on the last cycle. Tax free ITT bursaries continue to be available in design and technology, English, biology and religious education for ITT 2024. The department will continue to review the SKE programme on a regular basis to ensure that its funding is targeted as effectively as possible.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 25/04/2024 12:29:07 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4617 label Biography information for Matt Western

1701909

registered interest
date	17/04/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Department for Education: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many full-time equivalent staff in her Department are working on the science and technology skills dashboard.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	22309
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2024 answer text <p>The science and technology jobs and skills dashboard has been developed by the department’s Unit for Future Skills alongside science and technology policy experts in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. It is expected to be published in due course. Once the dashboard is published, the expectation is for it to take less than one full time-equivalent staff member to maintain and develop further.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 25/04/2024 16:21:30 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah