Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce funding for the planned New Model in Technology and Engineering University in Hereford.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The planned New Model in Technology and Engineering University (NMiTE) Hereford is currently under consideration.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has for the funding of a university in Hereford.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The planned New Model in Technology and Engineering University (NMiTE) for Hereford is currently under consideration.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she intends to meet the hon. Member for North Herefordshire to discuss Brockhampton school.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Secretary of State met the hon. Member for North Herefordshire last Wednesday 9th December. Department for Education officials are investigating the concerns raised about Brockhampton Primary School. We will follow up with options as quickly as possible. We will keep the hon. Member for North Herefordshire informed on developments.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the take-up of the local offer as contained in the Children and Families Act 2014; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Edward Timpson
99% of local authorities, including Herefordshire, have published their local offers and are required by the Children and Families Act 2014 to review them in consultation with children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and their parents. This will enable local authorities to assess how responsive their local offer is to local needs and take action to improve it.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assistance his Department provides for small independent schools making applications for free school status; and if he will take steps to increase such assistance.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The Department for Education provides comprehensive guidance for all free school applicants on the criteria that successful applications need to meet. The Department also provides a grant to the New Schools Network to provide free expert support to applicants to develop their free school application.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools in North Herefordshire have unsuccessfully applied for free school status.
Answered by Edward Timpson
There have been two applications to establish free schools in North Herefordshire: one in 2012 was successful and one in 2013 was unsuccessful.
A list of all applications to establish free schools is published online at:
Wave 1 and 2:
Wave 3:
Wave 4:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-schools-wave-4-application-information
Wave 5:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-schools-wave-5-application-information
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress he has made on making the process for school leaving local education authority control to become free schools easier.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Free schools are a type of academy, established either as new provision or by independent schools joining the state sector. Maintained schools cannot become free schools, but they can convert to become academies, which enjoy broadly the same freedoms as free schools. The Department for Education is continually refining the academy conversion process. Guidance has been shortened, documentation simplified and standardised, including a ‘plain English' version of the funding agreement, and an online application form introduced in March, saving schools time in submitting information to the department.
The number of converter academies continues to increase, with 2,795 converter academies open as of May 2014.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will discuss with (a) the Whitbourne Independent School and Hub and (b) other projects whose applications for free school status were turned down those applicants' feedback on how the application process can be made easier for small independent schools.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The Department for Education welcomes all feedback on its processes and routinely surveys both successful and unsuccessful free school applicants to ensure the application process remains rigorous and fair and that only the strongest applications are approved.
The Whitbourne Independent School and Hub unsuccessfully applied to the New School Network's development programme, but has not applied to the Department of Education to open a free school. It is welcome to do so.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to give free schools more flexibility on requirements relating to (a) the involvement of volunteers and (b) provision of flexi-school places.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Volunteers in free schools, like maintained schools, can work alongside paid staff members to offer a range of skills and experience that can enhance pupils' learning. We encourage skilled members of the community to take up a range of voluntary roles in schools from being governors to listening to children read. The Government has reformed child protection policies to remove bureaucracy and enable managers to use their judgement about the checks and supervision required for each individual depending on their circumstances.
The free school programme encourages innovation and the decision to offer flexi-school places or how to deploy volunteers is one for individual head teachers. However, the free school criteria requires all applicants to meet rigorous standards including demonstrating how they would ensure a high quality education for every pupil and outlining a sustainable staffing structure.