Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools (a) are affected by and (b) have been forced to close because of the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in Enfield North constituency.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Departments have been asked to report on the current picture of suspected and confirmed RAAC in their estates as soon as possible. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out.
The Government published lists of education settings confirmed as having RAAC on Wednesday 6 September, and committed to providing further updates.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of schools at risk of imminent closure as a result of the (a) condition of and (b) type of building material in school buildings in (i) Enfield North constituency, (ii) the London Borough of Enfield and (iii) London.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Nothing is more important than the safety of children and staff. It has always been the case that where we are made aware of a building that may pose an immediate risk, the Department takes immediate action.
It is the responsibility of those who run schools – academy trusts, Local Authorities, and voluntary-aided school bodies – who work with their schools on a day-to-day basis, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert us if there is a concern with a building.
The Department has acted decisively and proactively to tackle this issue. This Government has taken more proactive action on RAAC than any other in the UK. The Department issued comprehensive guidance in 2018, and subsequent years, to all responsible bodies highlighting the potential risks associated with RAAC and supporting them to identify this within their buildings, as well as to take appropriate steps in meeting their obligations to keep buildings safe. The most recent guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-estates-guidance.
There are over 22,000 schools and colleges in England, and the vast majority are unaffected. A significant proportion of the estate was built outside the period where RAAC was used, with around one third of the estate built since 2001, therefore, the Department has focused efforts on buildings built in the post-war decades.
The Department issued a questionnaire in March 2022, asking responsible bodies to inform the Department of any suspected RAAC identified in their estates. Responsible bodies have submitted questionnaires for over 98% of schools with blocks built in the target era, of which there are 14,900. We are pressing all remaining schools to get checks completed, to determine which schools require surveys.
The Department is contacting responsible bodies to help them respond to this request and to advise on what needs to be done, so that they can establish whether they believe they have RAAC. This work will continue until we have a response for all target era schools.
Schools and colleges where RAAC is suspected are being fast tracked for surveying, which is used to confirm whether RAAC is actually present. All schools and colleges that have already told us they suspect they might have RAAC will be surveyed within a matter of weeks, in many cases in a matter of days.
All schools where RAAC is confirmed are provided with a dedicated caseworker to support them and help implement a mitigation plan and minimise the disruption to children’s learning.
Across Government, Departments have been asked to report on the current picture of suspected and confirmed RAAC in their estates as soon as possible. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out. The Department for Education published lists of education settings confirmed as having RAAC on Wednesday 6 September, and committed to providing further updates.
Schools will contact parents where RAAC is identified and inform them of any impacts on their child. The vast majority of schools are unaffected. Any parents that are unsure if their child’s school is affected should contact their school directly.
While some short term disruption is inevitable, all available measures will be taken to minimise disruption to pupil learning and ensure that pupils continue to receive face-to-face teaching. Where there is any disturbance to face-to-face education, schools will prioritise attendance for vulnerable children and young people and children of key workers. The guidance published by the Department in August also includes guidance on provision for pupils with SEND and sets out expectations that schools continue to provide free school meals to eligible pupils.
The Department will fund emergency mitigation work needed to make buildings safe, including installing alternative classroom space where necessary. Where schools and colleges need additional help with revenue costs, like transport to locations or temporarily renting a local hall or office, the department will provide that support for all reasonable requests. The Department will also fund longer term refurbishment projects, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, to rectify the RAAC issue in the long term.
All previously confirmed Schol Rebuilding Programme projects announced in 2021 and 2022 will continue to go ahead. A full list of confirmed projects can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.
Further information on RAAC in education settings is available on the Education Hub: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/06/new-guidance-on-raac-in-education-settings/.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils are eligible for the pupil premium in Enfield North constituency.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government provides additional funding through the Pupil Premium (PP) to support disadvantaged pupils. PP rates have increased by 5% for 2023/24, taking total PP funding nationally to almost £2.9 billion.
As of June 2023, 7,470 were eligible for PP in Enfield North constituency this year, equating to £9,570,205 in funding. The Department publishes PP allocations, including at constituency level, here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2023-to-2024.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support SEND provision in Enfield North constituency.
Answered by David Johnston
High needs funding for supporting children and young people with complex Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in England is increasing by a further £440 million, or 4.3%, in the 2024/25 financial year, which will bring the total high needs budget to £10.5 billion. This is an increase of over 60% from the 2019/20 high needs allocations. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of provision for these children and young people.
The department has recently announced provisional 2024/25 high needs allocations for local authorities. Funding is provided to local authorities rather than constituencies.
Enfield Council‘s allocation is £79 million, which is £2.6 million more than the Council will receive this year. This is an increase of 30% per head over the three years from 2021/22.
In March 2022, the department also announced High Needs Provision Capital Allocations (HNPCA) amounting to over £1.4 billion of new investment. This funding is to support local authorities to deliver new places for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years and improve existing provision for children and young people with SEND. This funding forms part of the £2.6 billion the department is investing between 2022 and 2025, and represents a significant, transformational investment in new high needs provision.
Of the £1.4 billion announced, Enfield Council received £6.1 million.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many paid severances have been made by (a) schools and (b) academy trusts in (i) Enfield North constituency, (ii) the London Borough of Enfield and (iii) London for each of the last five years; and what the total cost to the public purse for these severances was in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government requires a high level of accountability and transparency of academy trusts. Academy trusts’ status as companies, charities, and public sector bodies, means they have a rigorous tri-partite framework, and are held up to greater scrutiny.
Academy trusts’ responsibilities on severance payments are set out in the Academy Trust Handbook, which can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/academy-trust-handbook. Additional guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academies-severance-payments-form. Data on severance payments is published in academy trusts’ accounts, which are available on trusts’ websites and Companies House, and at sector level in the Academies Consolidated Annual Report and Accounts, found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/academies-sector-annual-reports-and-accounts. The latest sector data for the Consolidated Annual Report and Accounts year ending 31 August 2022 will be published in autumn 2023.
As academy trusts rort at trust rather than individual school level, their accounts do not specify which school any severance payment relates to. Because trusts often operate across geographic locations, it is not possible to align this information to a specific borough, constituency or city.
As the responsibility for maintained schools’ severance payments sits with the school and the Local Authority, the Department does not collect the number of severances or amounts paid by Local Authority maintained schools.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support apprenticeships in Enfield North constituency.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Apprenticeships are crucial in driving growth and social mobility. They boost skills across the economy and improve people's earnings and career opportunities nationwide. Since 2010, there have been 7,790 apprenticeship starts in the Enfield North constituency, and the department wants to ensure that this number continues to grow.
To support this, the government is increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25, encouraging more employers across the country to recruit new apprentices. The department has introduced flexible training models, such as flexi-job and accelerated apprenticeships, to make apprenticeships more accessible and has improved the transfer system so that levy-payers can make better use of their funds. We are also supporting employers to access apprenticeships by reducing administrative burdens and cutting the number of steps needed to register to take on an apprentice by one third.
The department recognises the vital role that small to medium-sized employers (SMEs) play in creating apprenticeship opportunities. That is why we removed the limit on the number of apprentices that smaller employers can take on, making it easier for SMEs to grow their businesses with the skilled apprentices they need.
The department is also allocating an additional £40 million over the next two years to support degree apprenticeship providers to expand and help more people access this provision, on top of our £8 million investment in 2022/23.
Furthermore, in August, the care leavers bursary increased for apprentices under the age of 25 from £1,000 to £3,000, supporting more people from all backgrounds to undertake apprenticeships.
We continue to promote apprenticeships to young people in schools and further education colleges across the country through our Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme, and UCAS will be expanding its service to allow students to search for and apply to apprenticeships alongside degrees.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department has spent on anti-bullying initiatives for schools in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London in the last 12 months.
Answered by David Johnston
The department does not collect information on how much money has been spent on anti-bullying initiatives for schools in specific areas of the country. The department is providing over £3 million of funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2024, to five anti-bullying organisations to support schools across the country to tackle bullying. This includes projects targeting bullying of particular groups, such as those who are victims of hate related bullying.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an estimate of the median level of student debt held by people in Enfield North constituency.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The median debt of full-time undergraduate borrowers funded by Student Finance England, whose postcode is within the Enfield North constituency and who entered repayment within the last five years is £44,881.70. The median debt includes tuition fee and maintenance loans.
The borrower’s postcode refers to the current contact or home address supplied by the borrower to the Student Loans Company.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average staff to student ratio was in secondary schools (a) nationally and (b) in Enfield North constituency in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020, (iii) 2021 and (iv) 2022.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers leaving service nationally and pupil to adult and pupil to teacher ratios at national, regional and local authority level, is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
The requested figures for teachers leaving service by parliamentary constituency are not available.
As at November 2022, the latest data available, there were over 468,000 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state funded schools in England, an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010. This makes the highest number of FTE teachers since the school workforce census began in 2010.
The Department has taken action to improve teacher workload, working with teachers and head teachers to understand and address longstanding issues around marking, planning and data management. The Department continues to work proactively with the sector to understand the drivers behind workload and wellbeing issues, and to improve policies and interventions.
The Department is supporting schools to act and remove unhelpful practice that creates unnecessary workload. The School Workload Reduction Toolkit, developed alongside head teachers, is a helpful resource for schools to review and reduce workload. Further information on the workload reduction toolkit can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-workload-reduction-toolkit.
The Department also worked in partnership with the education sector and mental health experts to create the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, which the Department is encouraging schools to sign up to as a shared commitment to promote staff wellbeing. So far, 2,600 schools have signed up to the Charter. The Charter is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter.
The table below provides the pupil to adult ratio and the pupil to teacher ratio for state funded secondary schools in Enfield North constituency and England for academic years 2019/20 to 2022/23.
Pupil to adult and pupil to teacher ratios for state-funded secondary schools1 in Enfield North constituency and England, by year
2019/20 to 2022/232
| Enfield North constituency | England | ||
| Pupil to adult ratio3,5 | Pupil to teacher ratio4,5 | Pupil to adult ratio3,5 | Pupil to teacher ratio4,5 |
2019/20 | 11.6 | 15.8 | 11.9 | 16.6 |
2020/21 | 11.6 | 15.8 | 11.9 | 16.6 |
2021/22 | 12.2 | 16.4 | 11.9 | 16.7 |
2022/23 | 12.4 | 16.8 | 12.0 | 16.8 |
Source: School Workforce Census.
1. Includes one all-through school.
2. Workforce data as at November and pupils data as at the following January. For instance, 2019/20 relates to November 2019 workforce and January 2020 pupils.
3. Pupil to adult ratio includes teachers and support staff (excluding administrative and auxiliary staff).
4. Pupil to teacher ratio includes all teachers.
5. The ratios are calculated using pupil numbers taken from the publication, Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers in Enfield North constituency have left the profession in the last (a) one, (b) two and (c) five years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers leaving service nationally and pupil to adult and pupil to teacher ratios at national, regional and local authority level, is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
The requested figures for teachers leaving service by parliamentary constituency are not available.
As at November 2022, the latest data available, there were over 468,000 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state funded schools in England, an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010. This makes the highest number of FTE teachers since the school workforce census began in 2010.
The Department has taken action to improve teacher workload, working with teachers and head teachers to understand and address longstanding issues around marking, planning and data management. The Department continues to work proactively with the sector to understand the drivers behind workload and wellbeing issues, and to improve policies and interventions.
The Department is supporting schools to act and remove unhelpful practice that creates unnecessary workload. The School Workload Reduction Toolkit, developed alongside head teachers, is a helpful resource for schools to review and reduce workload. Further information on the workload reduction toolkit can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-workload-reduction-toolkit.
The Department also worked in partnership with the education sector and mental health experts to create the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, which the Department is encouraging schools to sign up to as a shared commitment to promote staff wellbeing. So far, 2,600 schools have signed up to the Charter. The Charter is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter.
The table below provides the pupil to adult ratio and the pupil to teacher ratio for state funded secondary schools in Enfield North constituency and England for academic years 2019/20 to 2022/23.
Pupil to adult and pupil to teacher ratios for state-funded secondary schools1 in Enfield North constituency and England, by year
2019/20 to 2022/232
| Enfield North constituency | England | ||
| Pupil to adult ratio3,5 | Pupil to teacher ratio4,5 | Pupil to adult ratio3,5 | Pupil to teacher ratio4,5 |
2019/20 | 11.6 | 15.8 | 11.9 | 16.6 |
2020/21 | 11.6 | 15.8 | 11.9 | 16.6 |
2021/22 | 12.2 | 16.4 | 11.9 | 16.7 |
2022/23 | 12.4 | 16.8 | 12.0 | 16.8 |
Source: School Workforce Census.
1. Includes one all-through school.
2. Workforce data as at November and pupils data as at the following January. For instance, 2019/20 relates to November 2019 workforce and January 2020 pupils.
3. Pupil to adult ratio includes teachers and support staff (excluding administrative and auxiliary staff).
4. Pupil to teacher ratio includes all teachers.
5. The ratios are calculated using pupil numbers taken from the publication, Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics.