Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to section 7.2.12 of her Department's publication entitled School workforce census guide 2024: Guide for schools including academies within a Multi Academy Trust, published on 11 October 2024, how many and what proportion of school support staff posts in publicly-funded schools in England were paid on (a) National Joint Council (Local Government Services) pay ranges, (b) other pay ranges, and (c) pay ranges for which data was not returned in the most recent workforce census period.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Information on the school workforce is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
The attached table provides the pay ranges reported for support staff post contracts in the November 2023 school workforce census, which is the latest data available.
Support staff may have more than one contract, therefore individuals may be counted more than once.
School support staff play a vital role in children’s education and development. The department values and recognises the professionalism of the entire school workforce and will address recruitment and retention challenges by reinstating the School Support Staff Negotiating Body.
This body will be tasked with establishing a national terms and conditions handbook, training and progression routes, ensuring that schools can recruit and retain the staff needed to deliver high quality, inclusive education.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 7 October 2024 to Question 5620 on Schools: Buildings, what stage of the School Rebuilding Programme are (a) Green Meadow Primary School and (b) King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy in Birmingham Northfield constituency at; and what indicative start dates have been given to each of those schools.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Green Meadow Primary School is in group 2 of the School Rebuilding Programme. Projects in group 2 are expected to commence with planning and feasibility work from April 2025.
King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy is in group 3 and is currently expected to commence with planning and feasibility work no earlier than April 2027.
Specific start dates will be communicated to the schools at least a month in advance of the projects starting.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will have discussions with the Standards and Testing Agency on its planned timetable for responding to the representation made by King Edwards VI Balaam Wood Academy on 10 September 2024.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The Standards and Testing Agency received an allegation of maladministration from King Edwards VI Balaam Wood Academy on 10 September. It is currently carrying out an investigation in line with its standard procedures. The outcome of the investigation will be communicated to the headteacher of King Edwards VI Balaam Wood Academy once it is complete. The Standards and Testing Agency will respond as quickly as it can.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to section 8.1.1 of her Department's publication entitled School workforce census guide 2023: Guide for schools including academies within a Multi Academy Trust, published in July 2023, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of collecting information on school support staff vacancies through the school workforce census.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
School support staff play a vital role in children’s education and development. The department values and recognises the professionalism of the entire school workforce and will address recruitment and retention challenges by reinstating the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB).
The SSSNB will be tasked with establishing a national terms and conditions handbook, training, career progression routes and fair pay rates for support staff. This reform will ensure that schools can recruit and retain the staff needed to deliver high quality, inclusive education.
The department will consider the merits of collecting information on school support staff vacancies through the school workforce census during the setup of the SSSNB.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether local authorities are required to monitor the average cost of delivering Education, Health, and Care Plans within their area.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Local authorities are not required to monitor the average cost of delivering education, health, and care (EHC) plans within their area. Local authorities are required to submit data on education spending, including spending relating to special educational needs and disabilities, as part of their annual returns to the department. But these returns do not cover the average cost of EHC plans.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeships have started in Birmingham Northfield constituency in each of the last five years.
Answered by Janet Daby
Apprenticeship starts by parliamentary constituency are published in the Apprenticeships Statistics publication. Figures for Birmingham Northfield constituency can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/2abb827d-653c-4a6f-5350-08dca71310d3.
Note: Figures are based on parliamentary constituency boundaries as at July 2024.
Further information on apprenticeship starts can be found in the Apprenticeships Statistics publication, which can be accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average funding per pupil was in mainstream schools in (a) Birmingham Northfield constituency, (b) Birmingham, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England in each of the last five years.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The tables below provide average per-pupil funding from 2020/21 to 2024/25.
For Birmingham, the West Midlands and England, the figures represent the funding provided through the schools block of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG). All of the figures in table one exclude growth funding but include premises and additional funding from grants.
The DSG is allocated at local authority level, and as such the equivalent figures are not available for Birmingham Northfield constituency. The constituency level data for Birmingham Northfield is therefore instead calculated based on the notional schools national funding formula (NFF) allocations for all mainstream schools in the constituency. The figures in table two are not comparable to those in table one, not only because DSG funding cannot be aggregated down to constituency level, but also because the context of the funding figures are not the same. The figures in table two do not include the money that schools in the Birmingham Northfield constituency have received through additional grants, such as the Schools Supplementary Grant (SSG) and the Mainstream Schools Additional Grant (MSAG), therefore making the constituency-level funding appear to rise slower than that of the others presented.
Table one
Year | DSG Schools Block per-pupil funding | ||
Birmingham | West Midlands | England | |
2020-21 | £5,162 | £4,823 | £4,845 |
2021-22 | £5,518 | £5,198 | £5,228 |
2022-23 | £5,830 | £5,506 | £5,534 |
2023-24 | £6,144 | £5,815 | £5,838 |
2024-25 | £6,244 | £5,931 | £5,957 |
Table two
NFF Schools Block per-pupil funding * | |
Year | Birmingham Northfield constituency |
2020-21 | £5,429 |
2021-22 | £5,562 |
2022-23 | £5,707 |
2023-24 | £5,991 |
2024-25 | £6,304 |
* The allocations that schools within a constituency actually receive are determined by the local funding formula in their area.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department’s transparency data, entitled Local authority applications to open a special free school: waves 3 and 4, updated on 16 May 2024, what the expected opening date is of the Frankley Hill School in Birmingham.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The school, which is planned to be a 400 place, co-educational school for pupils aged 4 to 19 with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, was approved into the pre-opening stage in March 2024. Departmental officials are working closely with the local authority and the trust to agree an opening date.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she expects a third independent report into Birmingham City Council’s SEND service to be published in 2024.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The department aims to publish the report within the coming months, in line with existing practice.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of trends in (a) recruitment and (b) retention of school support staff in (i) Birmingham and (ii) England in the last five years.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The full-time equivalent (FTE) of support staff has increased each year since the 2019/20 academic year, to 510,400 in 2023/24, and has now passed the previous peak of 2015/16. This is an increase of 4,800 (0.9%) since last year. This increase is mainly due to the addition of 2,400 in other support staff.
Support staff are categorised into posts of teaching assistants, administrative staff, auxiliary staff, technicians and other supporting staff, plus two new posts of school business professional and leadership non-teacher reported for the first time in 2023/24.
School business professionals include roles such as bursar, business manager, finance officer, office manager, premises manager or ICT network manager.
Data relating to the FTE of all support staff can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/7b0a17e8-b3ff-403e-687f-08dca70c1109.
Equivalent data relating to Birmingham’s parliamentary constituencies can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/0fb9acee-35f2-4607-fac3-08dca70cb6e4.
School support staff play a vital role in children’s education and development. The department values and recognises the professionalism of the entire school workforce and will address recruitment and retention challenges by reinstating the School Support Staff Negotiating Body.
This body will be tasked with establishing a national terms and conditions handbook, training and progression routes, ensuring that schools can recruit and retain the staff needed to deliver high quality, inclusive education.