Asked by: Baroness Massey of Darwen (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the report by the Fair Admissions Campaign in 2015, and in particular its recommendations that an independent body be established actively to monitor and enforce schools' admissions arrangements.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Government will shortly consult on a package of changes to the School Admissions Code which will both respond to concerns from parents and to the findings in the Chief Adjudicator’s Annual Report. That package will include measures to improve fairness and transparency.
We want the Schools Adjudicator to be able to focus on objections raised by those who will be affected by admission arrangements. Local Authorities will continue to have a right to object on behalf of the local community.
The Government supports the need for an independent body to respond to concerns raised about the fairness of school admission arrangements. The Schools Adjudicator is that body and we are confident of both the independence and rigour of the adjudication process.
Asked by: Baroness Massey of Darwen (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to comments made by Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, Chair of the Accord coalition, opposing proposals to prevent organisations from objecting to the admission arrangements of schools.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Government will shortly consult on a package of changes to the School Admissions Code which will both respond to concerns from parents and to the findings in the Chief Adjudicator’s Annual Report. That package will include measures to improve fairness and transparency.
We want the Schools Adjudicator to be able to focus on objections raised by those who will be affected by admission arrangements. Local Authorities will continue to have a right to object on behalf of the local community.
The Government supports the need for an independent body to respond to concerns raised about the fairness of school admission arrangements. The Schools Adjudicator is that body and we are confident of both the independence and rigour of the adjudication process.
Asked by: Baroness Massey of Darwen (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what additional steps, if any, they will take to monitor and enforce compliance with the School Admissions Code in the light of their decision to limit those who can formally object to school admission arrangements; and what estimate they have made of what percentage of the objections submitted to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator by (1) parents, and (2) groups or organisations, were successful between 2012 and 2015 inclusive.
Answered by Lord Nash
The School Admissions Code exists to ensure that places in all state funded schools are allocated in a fair and transparent manner. The Department for Education will shortly be consulting on a package of changes to the Code, which will include measures to assist parents and promote fairness and transparency. The proposed changes in relation to objections are designed to ensure that the Schools Adjudicator is able to focus on the concerns parents may have about the fairness of the admission arrangements of their local school and is not held up by the need to also consider large numbers of objections referred by interest groups from outside the area. Local authorities will continue to have the right to object so that they are able to act on behalf of the local community.
Asked by: Baroness Massey of Darwen (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is their policy that all schools should follow the School Admissions Code, and if so, why objections to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator that have been upheld have been described by the Secretary of State for Education as "vexatious".
Answered by Lord Nash
All maintained schools and academies are required to comply with the School Admissions Code.
Currently, legislation allows ‘any person or body who considers that a maintained school or academy’s arrangements are unlawful’ to refer an objection to the Schools Adjudicator. However, the Adjudicator raised concerns in her recent annual report that, in some instances, groups and individuals appear to have referred objections in an attempt to influence government policy.
We want to ensure that the Adjudicator is able to focus on the concerns that parents may have about their local school’s admission arrangements, and is not held up by the need to also consider large numbers of objections referred by interest groups from outside the area. We are, therefore, proposing that only local parents and local authorities should be able to refer objections to the Schools Adjudicator.
We will be conducting a full public consultation in due course and will give careful consideration to all the views expressed in that consultation.
Asked by: Baroness Massey of Darwen (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether proposed changes to who can object to school admissions arrangements will have a disproportionate impact on parents from low income backgrounds.
Answered by Lord Nash
Our proposed changes are intended to ensure that the Adjudicator is able to focus on the concerns parents may have about the fairness of the admission arrangements of their local school. We do not want parents’ objections to be held up by the need to also consider objections referred by interest groups from outside the area.
It will remain open for local authorities to object to the Adjudicator about schools’ admission arrangements as the champion of local parents. Preventing interest groups from submitting objections will not have a detrimental impact on lower income families.
We will conduct a full public consultation in due course and will give careful consideration to all the views expressed in that consultation.
Asked by: Baroness Massey of Darwen (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many pupils in Pupil Referral Units are reintegrated into mainstream education annually, and what support is available for that to happen.
Answered by Lord Nash
Every child, including those who have been excluded, should receive a good quality education to allow them to achieve their full potential. Information on the number of pupils in pupil referral units (PRUs) reintegrated into mainstream education annually is not readily available and it could only be determined at a disproportionate cost.
PRUs and other alternative providers should work with commissioners to develop a clearly defined set of objectives for each pupil’s time in alternative provision and their reintegration into mainstream education. Progress against these objectives should be frequently monitored and assessed to ensure that pupils’ needs are being addressed and they return to mainstream school when they are ready. An appropriate package of support should be in place to assist in the reintegration process.
The Department has published statutory guidance in 2013 on alternative provision with clearly defined objectives for commissioners of PRUs and alternative provision (AP) to support pupils back into school after an alternative education placement. A copy has been attached to this answer.
Asked by: Baroness Massey of Darwen (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why pupils not attending school due to health needs are not entitled to the pupil premium.
Answered by Lord Nash
This Government is determined that all children, regardless of their circumstances, should receive a good education. Where a child of compulsory school age would not receive suitable education due to health needs, local authorities have a duty to ensure that alternative arrangements are put in place. Local authorities are funded to make these arrangements through their high needs budgets.
The pupil premium is additional funding that recognises the further barriers to educational achievement faced by disadvantaged pupils. Disadvantaged pupils who are unable to attend school because of health needs continue to attract the pupil premium. The premium is paid to all state funded schools with eligible pupils, including special schools, special academies, pupil referral units and alternative provision academies. Where eligible pupils are recorded on the alternative provision census as receiving other forms of alternative provision then the pupil premium is paid to the local authority. Information about pupil premium funding arrangements can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and-alternative-provision-settings
Asked by: Baroness Massey of Darwen (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children's centres have closed in the last year, and how many will close in 2016.
Answered by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
In 2015, 144 children’s centres closed. The Department does not routinely collect data on the number of anticipated closures but expects local authorities to fulfil their duties under the Childcare Act 2006 to ensure sufficient children’s centres to meet the needs of local families. Local authorities must consult fully before any significant changes are made to children’s centre services.