Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the closure of small village schools on the sustainability of rural communities.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The government recognises the essential role that small schools play in their communities, many of which are in rural areas. The schools national funding formula (NFF) accounts for the particular challenges faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factor. This recognises that some schools are necessarily small because they are remote and do not have the same opportunities to grow or make efficiency savings as other schools, and that such schools often play a significant role in the rural communities they serve.
There is a presumption against the closure of all rural maintained schools and departmental guidance states that both the department and the local authority need to agree the closure of a rural academy. Rural schools are at the heart of their communities, and we expect all proposers to have regard to alternatives to closure first.
The presumption against closure does not mean that rural schools will never close, but it does ensure that the case for closure is strong and that the proposals are clearly in the best interests of educational provision in the area. Even in a rural authority, there will be cases where redeploying resources currently allocated to a small school is judged appropriate to provide a richer educational experience for all young people in the area. Nevertheless, the case must be clearly in the best interests of educational provision in the area.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of (a) the sparsity factor and (b) other elements of the national funding formula in supporting small rural schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The government recognises the essential role that small schools play in their communities, many of which are in rural areas. The schools national funding formula (NFF) accounts for the particular challenges faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factor. This recognises that some schools are necessarily small because they are remote and do not have the same opportunities to grow or make efficiency savings as other schools, and that such schools often play a significant role in the rural communities they serve.
Schools attract sparsity funding through the NFF if they are both small and remote. In this calculation, the size of the school is calculated on the basis of the average year group size in the school. To measure a school’s remoteness, the department uses data on the pupils for whom that school is their nearest ‘compatible’ school, in terms of, for example, the correct phase of education. We then look at how far each of those pupils lives from their second nearest compatible school. Further details on this calculation are published here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/674ed7f48b522bba9d991a75/Schools_block_NFF_technical_note.pdf.
Eligible primary schools will attract up to £57,400, and all other schools will attract up to £83,400, in sparsity funding in 2025/26.
All small schools have benefited from the increase to core factors in the NFF in 2025/26, including the NFF lump sum, which is set at £145,100. This provides a fixed amount of funding that is unrelated to pupil-led factors. The lump sum is particularly beneficial to small schools more reliant on an element of funding that is not driven by pupil numbers.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the sparsity factor in the national funding formula is (a) calculated and (b) applied to small rural schools for 2025-26.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The government recognises the essential role that small schools play in their communities, many of which are in rural areas. The schools national funding formula (NFF) accounts for the particular challenges faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factor. This recognises that some schools are necessarily small because they are remote and do not have the same opportunities to grow or make efficiency savings as other schools, and that such schools often play a significant role in the rural communities they serve.
Schools attract sparsity funding through the NFF if they are both small and remote. In this calculation, the size of the school is calculated on the basis of the average year group size in the school. To measure a school’s remoteness, the department uses data on the pupils for whom that school is their nearest ‘compatible’ school, in terms of, for example, the correct phase of education. We then look at how far each of those pupils lives from their second nearest compatible school. Further details on this calculation are published here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/674ed7f48b522bba9d991a75/Schools_block_NFF_technical_note.pdf.
Eligible primary schools will attract up to £57,400, and all other schools will attract up to £83,400, in sparsity funding in 2025/26.
All small schools have benefited from the increase to core factors in the NFF in 2025/26, including the NFF lump sum, which is set at £145,100. This provides a fixed amount of funding that is unrelated to pupil-led factors. The lump sum is particularly beneficial to small schools more reliant on an element of funding that is not driven by pupil numbers.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to (a) review and (b) adjust the national funding formula to reflect additional (i) staffing, (ii) maintenance, (iii) transport and (iv) other costs for small rural schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The 2025/26 schools national funding formula (NFF) uses the same factors as the 2024/25 NFF. This continuity from the previous year minimises disruption to local authorities and schools.
The government is undertaking a review of the schools NFF to consider potential changes for 2026/27 and future years, recognising the importance of a fair funding system that directs funding where it is needed. The department will consider the operation of the ‘sparsity’ factor, which targets revenue funding for small and rural schools, as part of that review.
Funding for capital expenditure sits outside of the NFF. The department expects responsible bodies, such as local authorities, multi-academy trusts, and dioceses, to ensure that their schools are well maintained. In addition to the schools NFF, responsible bodies, such as local authorities and academy trusts, have access to capital funding each year to improve the condition of their buildings through either a school condition allocation or the Condition Improvement Fund. Schools are also directly allocated devolved formula capital funding which allows schools to invest in small-scale capital projects. Capital funding to improve the condition of the school estate is increasing to £2.1 billion for the2025/26 financial year, up from £1.8 billion in the 2024/25 financial year.
Funding for pupils’ home to school transport is also outside of the schools NFF, which is funded through the local government finance settlement, administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s allocations to local authorities.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether any procurement contracts awarded by her Department have included mandatory commitments to equality, diversity, and inclusion training since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Janet Daby
In accordance with government commercial policy, the department uses centrally maintained frameworks provided by Crown Commercial Service and otherwise uses the suite of standard contracts maintained by Cabinet Office, for the majority of contracts. These terms and conditions require the supplier to perform its obligations under the contract in accordance with equality law, but do not include a requirement to undertake mandatory training.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to provide support for UK mature students.
Answered by Janet Daby
Data published by Universities and Colleges Admissions Services (UCAS) on full-time undergraduate higher education (HE) applications for the 2025 admissions cycle shows the overall number of applicants to UK HE is slightly higher than last year, with demand remaining strong.
UCAS data from the equal consideration deadline, which was in January, shows applications from mature UK applicants, those aged over 21, are down 6.4% on 2024, and down 21.3% on 2020. However, acceptances at end of cycle are not always reflective of these earlier trends.
In 2024, UK domiciled mature applicants were down 15.8% on 2019 at the January deadline but were up 1.3% at end of cycle. Acceptances at end of cycle were up 2.2%. There has been long-term growth in the number of UK domiciled mature acceptances reported at end of cycle between 2006 and 2024. This is shown in the green line in the attachment.
Eligible full-time and part-time undergraduate students, including mature students, qualify for up-front fee loans to meet the full costs of their tuition. Full-time students also qualify for partially means-tested loans as a contribution towards their living costs, which are paid at four different rates depending on where a student is living and studying. In addition, vulnerable groups of students who are eligible for benefits, such as lone parents, qualify for higher rates of loans for living costs. Full-time students aged 60 or over on the first day of the first academic year of their course qualify for a single rate fully means-tested loan for living costs.
Full-time undergraduate students with adult or child dependants can apply for fully means-tested dependants’ grants.
Part-time undergraduate students attending eligible courses also qualify for partially means-tested loans for living costs.
Students undertaking postgraduate master’s or doctoral degree courses can apply for loans to help them with fee and course costs.
Maximum loans and grants for living and other costs for undergraduates and postgraduates will increase by 3.1% for the 2025/26 academic year with the largest cash increases to means-tested support for students from low-income families.
In terms of additional support available, all HE providers registered with the Office for Students (OfS) that intend to charge higher level tuition fees must have an Access and Participation Plan (APP) approved by the OfS. APPs articulate how HE providers will improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups, including mature students.
There are many excellent examples of interventions that show a real commitment to widening access into HE for mature students, but we want the sector to go further. By summer, the department will set out our plan for HE reform and the part we expect providers to play in improving access and outcomes for all under-represented students.
Finally, from January 2027, the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) will transform the student finance system in England. Under the LLE, new learners will be able to access a full entitlement equal to 4 years of full-time tuition. Returning learners who have previously received government support will have a reduced entitlement. This will depend on previous funding received. Learners will be able to use this new entitlement more flexibly than ever before to fund individual modules as well as full courses at levels 4 to 6, regardless of whether they are provided in colleges, universities or independent providers. The government expects to see the LLE being taken advantage of by mature students, those wishing to change career and retrain, or those wanting to move up in their existing career and upskill. Mature students may particularly benefit from the additional flexibility that LLE will bring as they frequently study part-time while combining paid work and other familial and financial commitments.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment has she made of the adequacy of support for young people in kinship care to pursue work based training and apprenticeships.
Answered by Janet Daby
The government is determined to give every child and young person the opportunities they deserve, and kinship carers play a crucial role in delivering this. Young people who receive care from relatives and friends need extra support, including in further education (FE), and the department is working to ensure their needs are met.
The department recently announced a £40 million package to trial a new Kinship Financial Allowance in up to ten local authorities, to test whether paying an allowance to cover the additional costs of supporting the child can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends.
This is the single biggest investment made by government in kinship care to date. This investment could transform the lives of vulnerable children who can no longer live at home, by allowing children to grow up within their families and communities, reducing disruption to their early years and allowing them to focus on schooling, building friendships and later employment and training.
We are developing a comprehensive strategy for post‐16 education and skills, to break down barriers to opportunity, support the development of a skilled workforce, and drive economic growth.
The department has committed to improve careers advice and guarantee two weeks’ worth of work experience for every young person, including those in kinship care. This will underpin our Opportunity Mission, ensuring that every young person has multiple opportunities, tailored to their needs, to learn from different employers about work and the skills that are valued in the workplace.
The department expects schools to develop and improve their careers provision to be inclusive for all young people, in line with the world-class Gatsby Benchmarks, including benchmark 3, which focuses on addressing the individual needs of each pupil.
The department is bringing together Jobcentre Plus with the National Careers Service to create a new jobs and careers service. This will lead to greater awareness and focus on skills and careers, as well as better join-up between employability and careers provision.
The department continues to provide employers and providers with additional funding to support more apprenticeship opportunities for young people, including those who have been in kinship care. We provide £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18-years-old, and up to age 24 for apprentices with an education, health and care (EHC) plan or who have been in local authority care. These payments can be used to support costs such as work equipment, uniforms or travel.
The department funds students aged 16 to 19-years-old or up to the age of 25 when they have an EHC plan. This funding enables students to take part in study programmes which include qualifications with other activities including tutorials or work experience, or to take part in T Levels which includes a technical qualification, other activities such as employment, and an industrial placement.
Both are designed to enable students to progress to employment, an apprenticeship, or further study including higher education.
Every local authority in England must appoint a virtual school head, who has a statutory duty to promote the educational achievement of all children in their care, wherever they live or are educated, up to age 18. All looked after children must have a personal education plan, which should set out the support needed to help realise their short and long term academic outcomes. This should include careers advice and guidance and financial information about further and higher education, training and employment.
The department is providing £24 million of pupil premium plus funding to virtual school heads between the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years, to enable them to provide extra support to children in care and care leavers in post-16 education, with £10 million allocated to local authorities in 2023/24 and a further £14 million in 2024/25.
16-19 bursaries are available to help young people who would not otherwise be able to afford to participate in FE and training, such as Study Programmes or T Levels, to help them pay for essential costs like books, food, travel, equipment or other education-related costs. These awards are made by institutions to individual students. It is up to institutions to decide which students will receive a discretionary bursary and how much they will receive. They are targeted at those students who need most financial help to overcome barriers to participation. Most institutions include information about the Bursary Fund on their websites and young people can also contact their school’s, or college’s, student support services for more information on how to apply.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of support for kinship carers raising disabled children.
Answered by Janet Daby
The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children.
In October 2024, we published the kinship care statutory guidance for local authorities, which sets out the support and services local authorities should provide to kinship families, including reaffirming the requirement to publish their local offer of support in a clear, accessible way. The guidance can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/670d3ed5e84ae1fd8592f2fa/Kinship_Care_-_statutory_guidance_for_local_authorities__October_2024.pdf.
The guidance makes it clear that children and young people should receive the support that they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare. There is no limit on the level of support, including financial support, that local authorities can provide. All local authorities should have in place clear eligibility criteria in relation to the provision of support services.
The department’s ‘Working together to safeguard children’ guidance, which is aimed at all agencies working to safeguard children, sets out how the social care needs of disabled children, and their carers, should be assessed. The guidance is clear that, “if a local authority considers that a parent carer of a disabled child may have support needs, it must carry out an assessment under section 17ZD of the Children Act 1989”. The local authority must also carry out such an assessment if a parent or carer requests one. The guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65797f1e0467eb000d55f689/Working_together_to_safeguard_children_2023_-_statutory_framework.pdf.
Moreover, under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, it is the general duty of every local authority to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need, and to promote the upbringing of such children by their families by providing a range and level of services appropriate to those children’s needs, such as the provision of short breaks.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on improving financial support for kinship carers.
Answered by Janet Daby
The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children. Kinship carers often take on this role at a time when they were least expecting to raise a family and we recognise the challenges they face, including financial.
At the Autumn Budget 2024, we announced £40 million of funding to trial a kinship allowance in some local authorities in England. We will test whether paying an allowance to cover the additional costs of caring for a child can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends. We will share further details and the process for selecting local authorities in due course.
This is the single biggest investment made by government in kinship care to date. This investment could transform the lives of vulnerable children who can no longer live at home by allowing children to grow up within their families and communities, reducing disruption to their early years, so they can focus on schooling and building friendships.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to extend (a) family finding, (b) befriending and (c) mentoring support for children in the care system to build relationships.
Answered by Janet Daby
The department is committed to helping children thrive, and we want the best for every child and family. We know that a stable support network and loving relationships are crucial to supporting children in care and care leavers to thrive.
To support this, we are currently funding 50 family finding, befriending and mentoring programmes being delivered by 45 local authorities. These programmes will help children in care and care leavers to identify and connect with the important people in their lives, improve their sense of identity and community and create and sustain consistent, stable and loving relationships.
We have commissioned an independent evaluation of the family finding, befriending and mentoring programmes, and this will inform decisions about their future.