| answer text |
<p>University technical colleges (UTCs) offer pupils and their parents a wider choice
of education by providing a rigorous mix of technical and academic education, backed
by the support of local and national employers and universities. To date, 30 UTCs
are open across the country and a further 26 plan to open by 2016. UTCs contribute
towards our aim of raising standards across schools and further education colleges
by introducing increased competition, innovation and choice.</p><p> </p><p>There has
been no assessment at a national level of the effect on the funding available to other
local educational institutions, or the courses which can be offered, with the establishment
of these UTCs. <br><br></p><p>Before the Secretary of State takes a decision on whether
to enter into a funding agreement with any UTC Trust, an impact assessment is carried
out in order to inform that decision. The impact assessment does not specifically
consider the funding available and courses on offer in local schools and colleges.
However, it does consider in detail the expected impact on pupil numbers at local
institutions: the funding that is available for schools and further education colleges,
which in turn affects the courses that they choose to offer, is directly linked to
the number of pupils that each institution can recruit.</p><p> </p><p>The Secretary
of State is required under Section 9 of the Academies Act 2010 to complete an assessment
of the impact on pupil numbers that the opening of any individual UTC will have local
maintained schools, academies, institutions within the further education sector and
alternative provision in the area in which the UTC is proposed to be situated. These
impact assessments are conducted on a case by case basis and they take into account
the type of educational establishment, age range and size, the proximity to the proposed
UTC and the school or college’s published exam results and Ofsted rating (which might
affect their popularity). Consequently, by considering the potential impact on pupil
numbers, the assessments indicate whether a school or college’s funding might be affected
and thus the impact on the number of courses it might be able to offer.</p><p> </p><p>In
addition, when approving applications for new UTCs, the Department considers whether
they are offering similar courses to those already available locally and whether there
is sufficient demand for the new provision.</p><p> </p>
|
|
