Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that Sandy Lane Nursery and Forest School in Warrington receives adequate funding to ensure its future sustainability.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Maintained Nursery Schools (MNS) make a valuable contribution to improving the lives of some of our most disadvantaged children. They also experience costs over and above those of other early years providers. That is why we are providing local authorities with around £60 million of supplementary funding to enable them to protect MNS funding at least until the period of 2019 to 2020. It is for local authorities to determine how much funding is received by each MNS.
All early years funding after the period of 2019 to 2020 will be determined by the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools in the Warrington North constituency will receive a cash increase in their budget per pupil for 2019-20.
Answered by Nick Gibb
For the period of 2019-20, all schools will attract gains through the national funding formula in pupil-led funding of at least 1% per pupil, compared to their baselines for the period of 2017-18. Final allocations for individual schools will be set according to the local schools formula, which is yet to be determined by the local authority.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations he has received on increasing the level of national funding for sixth form colleges; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Anne Milton
The department has not made those specific estimates. I am aware of representations on the subject of funding for 16 to 19 year olds including the Raise the Rate campaign, and incoming letters from MPs and the 16 to 19 sector.
We have protected the base rate of funding for 16 to 19 year olds for all types of providers until the end of the current spending review period in 2020. We are considering the funding and resilience of the further education sector ahead of the next Spending Review, and as with other areas of departmental spending, 16 to 19 funding for subsequent years will be considered as part of that review.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will estimate the cost of raising the national funding rate for students in sixth form colleges to (a) £4,760 per year for 16 and 17-year-olds and (b) £3,000 per year for 18-year-olds.
Answered by Anne Milton
The department has not made those specific estimates. I am aware of representations on the subject of funding for 16 to 19 year olds including the Raise the Rate campaign, and incoming letters from MPs and the 16 to 19 sector.
We have protected the base rate of funding for 16 to 19 year olds for all types of providers until the end of the current spending review period in 2020. We are considering the funding and resilience of the further education sector ahead of the next Spending Review, and as with other areas of departmental spending, 16 to 19 funding for subsequent years will be considered as part of that review.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will estimate the number of sixth form colleges which have ceased offering A level courses in (a) French, (b) German, (c) Spanish and (d) music in the last ten years for which data is available; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Anne Milton
The department does not collect information on the subjects offered by individual institutions. However, the number of students entering each subject can be provided as a proxy, and this data is available at institutional level from 2011/12. Between 2011/12 and 2016/17, there have been 99 sixth form colleges that were open for at least one year. The attached table gives the number of pupils entering each subject at each institution for each year.
Some sixth form colleges were not always open, have since closed, or have converted to academies (these are denoted as ‘-’ in the figures). Having zero entries into a subject does not necessarily mean that the subject was not offered by the sixth form in that year - it could be the case that no students chose to enter it or if they did, they sat no exams in that particular year. Some sixth forms also have small cohorts of students and therefore the numbers entering different subjects is naturally low and prone to fluctuation; this could lead some sixth forms to have no entries in particular years.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that the new provider for University Academy Warrington has (a) expertise in and (b) a track record of raising the attainment of working class pupils; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
In selecting a preferred sponsor for University Academy Warrington, the Regional Schools Commissioner for Lancashire and West Yorkshire will consider the trust’s track record of working with pupils who have similar characteristics to those at University Academy Warrington, alongside a range of other criteria, including the raising of attainment.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what penalties are incurred by a school for a delay in returning forms required for a pupils to transfer to another school as a result of a house move.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Parents can apply for a place at any school, at any time.
The statutory School Admissions Code, which is binding on all schools, including academies, sets out the process for admission into school. Since 2012, parents have been able to apply directly to the admissions authority of their preferred school, when applying for a place outside the normal points of entry. Local authorities must provide parents with information about available school places in their area and a suitable application form that they can use to apply.
Where a school has places available, it must admit all applicants. When a school receives an in-year application, it is required to notify the local authority of the outcome of that application. Schools are also required to notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is to be added or removed from the attendance register. If parents are refused a school place, they must be offered the right to appeal.
We expect admission authorities to make timely decisions on in-year applications. Where they fail to do so, parents can raise a formal complaint through the school’s complaints procedure.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what performance standards he has set for (a) academies and (b) local authorities to conclude the transfer of a pupil to a new school as a result of a change of address; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Parents can apply for a place at any school, at any time.
The statutory School Admissions Code, which is binding on all schools, including academies, sets out the process for admission into school. Since 2012, parents have been able to apply directly to the admissions authority of their preferred school, when applying for a place outside the normal points of entry. Local authorities must provide parents with information about available school places in their area and a suitable application form that they can use to apply.
Where a school has places available, it must admit all applicants. When a school receives an in-year application, it is required to notify the local authority of the outcome of that application. Schools are also required to notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is to be added or removed from the attendance register. If parents are refused a school place, they must be offered the right to appeal.
We expect admission authorities to make timely decisions on in-year applications. Where they fail to do so, parents can raise a formal complaint through the school’s complaints procedure.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which Multi-Academy Trusts are being considered for the re-brokerage on University Academy Warrington; and what criteria his Department will use to decide on a preferred Trust.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
When re-brokering an academy, a variety of factors are considered before identifying a new sponsor. These include a trust’s capacity, its track record, financial health, and its distance from the academy being re-brokered.
A number of sponsors are being considered for the re-brokerage of University Academy Warrington (UAW). These sponsors have been invited to submit an expression of interest with further details on the support they can provide. The chosen sponsor will have the experience, capacity and necessary ability to support and deliver sustainable improvement and stability for UAW.