Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of supply teaching arrangements on workforce retention (a) in general and (b) among teachers with protected characteristics.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Research conducted by the department in 2023 included findings on the estimated average daily cost of a supply teacher to a school and estimated average daily take-home pay of supply teachers, by phase. The leader survey and supply teacher survey found that the reported average daily cost to the school of a supply teacher was £218 in primary, £291 in secondary and £270 in special schools. The survey also found that the reported average daily take-home salary for supply teachers surveyed was £136 in primary, £150 in secondary and £144 in special schools.
The department, in conjunction with the Crown Commercial Service, has established the agency supply deal, which supports schools to obtain value for money when hiring agency supply teachers and other temporary school staff. More information can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/deal-for-schools-hiring-supply-teachers-and-agency-workers. The deal has established a list of preferred suppliers that schools can access, all of which will be transparent with schools about the rates they charge. The suppliers will also agree to not charge finder’s fees for workers who have been in post for 12 weeks, when four weeks’ notice is given, which makes it easier and more cost effective for schools to retain supply teachers and employ them on a permanent basis.
Schools and local authorities are currently responsible for the recruitment of their supply teachers, and a supply teacher’s pay and working conditions will depend on who employs them. Supply teachers employed directly by a state maintained school or local authority must be paid in accordance with the statutory arrangements for teachers laid down in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document. If a supply teacher is employed by a private agency or non-maintained school, the employer can set the rate of pay and conditions of employment.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that safeguarding teams in schools follow up with young people who have self-harmed.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department for Health and Social Care is primarily responsible for child mental health, including self-harm. Schools and colleges also have an important role to play in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of their pupils. ‘Keeping children safe in education’, the department’s statutory guidance for schools and colleges, makes clear that schools should ensure they have clear systems and processes in place for identifying possible mental health problems, including routes to escalate concerns and clear referral and accountability systems.
The department supports mental health leads in schools to embed effective approaches that help to identify issues such as self-harm and provides appropriate support along with a range of guidance and practical resources.
If staff have a mental health concern about a child which is also considered to be a safeguarding concern, they should follow their child protection policy and speak to their Designated Safeguarding Lead or a deputy immediately.
Designated Safeguarding Leads act as a source of support, advice and expertise for all staff and are the point of contact with local safeguarding partners. They liaise with school mental health leads and, where available, with mental health support teams where safeguarding concerns are linked to mental health issues. They also work with parents and carers to safeguard and promote the welfare of children to ensure support is in place at every stage.
The government will also provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate.
By April 2026, we estimate that 60% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England will be covered by an MHST, up from 52% in April 2025.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of areas with an identified need for 0-4 year old child care do not have spare classrooms at schools.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The department is creating 6,000 new nursery places in schools across the country in the first wave of 300 school-based nurseries, backed by £37 million of funding. Up to 4,000 places will be available from this September, helping to grow our vibrant childcare market which gives parents access to provision where they need it, including through school and private, voluntary and independent partnerships. Overall, 641 schools applied for this first phase of funding and a further 592 registered their interest in future phases.
In order to ensure local alignment between need for childcare and school spaces, each school involved outlined how their proposals addressed local demand and secured local authority approval to use surplus space for nursery expansion. This comes alongside the department’s regular consideration of published data such as Childcare Sufficiency Assessments and school capacity.
The department will continue working closely with the early years sector to scale the programme effectively, subject to the spending review, ensuring new provision meets the needs of children, parents and schools, and works within the local market.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to take steps to (a) help reduce the pay-gap for supply teachers in comparison to full-time teachers and (b) create a pathway for supply teachers to access the Teachers' pension scheme.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Supply teachers make a valuable contribution to our schools.
A supply teacher’s pay and working conditions will depend on who employs them. Supply teachers employed directly by a state maintained school or local authority must be paid in accordance with the statutory arrangements for teachers laid down in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document. If a supply teacher is employed by a private agency or non-maintained school, the employer can set the rate of pay and conditions of employment.
The Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) Regulations 2014, which set out the rules for the TPS, determine that for teachers to be eligible, their employment must be with an accepted employer, usually a school.
Where a supply teacher is employed directly by an accepted school, they will have the same participation rights as a permanent teacher and are eligible to participate in the scheme. Where supply teachers are self-employed, or employed by a supply agency and their services are provided under a contract for services, it is not possible for them to participate in the TPS. This is because there is no organisation to pay both member and employer contributions to the scheme in these circumstances.
The department does not have plans currently to revisit these positions.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the levels of (a) recruitment and (b) retention within the teaching profession.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
High-quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child’s outcomes. Recruiting and retaining more qualified, expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances for every child. This is why the department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new teachers across secondary and special schools and in our colleges over the course of this Parliament.
Over 2,000 more people are training to become secondary school teachers this year. Recruitment is on track to improve even further for the cohort set to start training in 2025/26, with 1,070 more acceptances to postgraduate and teacher degree apprenticeship initial teacher training courses in secondary subjects by the end of April 2025, compared to the same time last year. Additionally, over 2,500 more teachers are expected to stay in the profession over the next three years.
This government has already accepted in full the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendation of a 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools and ensured that this is fully funded. We are also incentivising recruitment with an increased £233 million investment in training bursaries, worth £29,000 tax-free, and scholarships worth £31,000 tax-free, for trainees in key subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing
The department is boosting opportunities to train to teach by streamlining postgraduate teaching apprenticeship courses from twelve months to nine, starting from August this year, to help get newly trained teachers into classrooms sooner.
A successful recruitment strategy starts with a strong retention strategy, and we can only do this by ensuring teaching is an attractive profession for all. For 2024/25 and 2025/26, the department is offering a targeted retention incentive worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools.
Alongside the resources we have made available to teachers to support their wellbeing, we are also promoting flexible working policies including allowing teachers to undertake planning, preparation and assessment from home. We are working closely with the sector, as part of Improving Education Together, to identify further key actions to improve teacher workload and wellbeing and ensure those joining the profession can stay and thrive.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much capital funding she plans to make available for schools in Devon in the 2026-27 financial year.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Ensuring schools have the resources and buildings they need is a key part of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.
Capital funding for the 2026/27 financial year to improve the condition of the estate will be set out following the next multi-year phase of the spending review.
In the 2025/26 budget, we increased capital funding to £2.1 billion to improve the condition of school buildings, up from £1.8 billion in the 2024/25 financial year. The majority of this funding is allocated to large responsible bodies such as local authorities, large multi-academy trusts and large voluntary-aided school bodies, who decide locally how to invest in their schools. Allocations and the methodology for the 2025/26 financial year are published in the ‘School capital funding’ guidance which can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-capital-funding#funding-allocations-for-the-2025-to-2026-financial-year.
This is on top of the continuing School Rebuilding Programme, which includes nine schools in Devon.
In March 2025, the department announced that Devon County Council has also been allocated just over £15.7 million in capital funding to support it to create the mainstream school places needed by September 2028. £9.6 million of this will be paid in the 2026/27 financial year, with a further £6.1 million paid in 2027/28.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with (a) school support workers and (b) other relevant stakeholders in the drafting of the Employment Rights Bill.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Clauses to establish the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) were introduced in Parliament as part of the Employment Rights Bill on 10 October 2024.
The department has policy responsibility for school support staff and the SSSNB. The department worked closely with stakeholders on the drafting of SSSNB clauses prior to introduction, including the recognised trade unions representing school support staff and employer representative organisations.
Departmental officials have established a regular working group with these organisations to provide a forum for stakeholders to give views on the design of the body.
We also engage with wider stakeholders who can share knowledge and expertise on the school support staff sector.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support is available to schools in Devon with class sizes over 35 pupils.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
In Devon, the average infant class size is 24.9 pupils and the average primary class size is 25.5 pupils. These are both less than the national average of 26.6. The average secondary class size is 22.6 pupils, which is similar to the national average of 22.4.
Legislation limits the size of an infant class to 30 pupils per schoolteacher, with limited prescribed exceptions, including for looked after children and those from multiple births. In Devon, the average infant class size is well within the statutory limit and below the national average.
There is no statutory limit on the size of classes for older children (pupils aged 8 and over), and it is up to schools to decide how to organise classes based on local needs and circumstances, ensuring they are consistent with raising attainment and helping pupils to achieve and thrive.
Local authorities have responsibility to ensure there are sufficient school places in their area. The department provides capital funding through the Basic Need grant to support local authorities to provide additional school places where they are needed.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the National Funding Formula on (a) rural areas and (b) Devon.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The purpose of the national funding formula (NFF) is not to give every school the same level of per pupil funding. It is right that schools with more pupils with additional needs, such as those indicated by measures of deprivation, receive extra funding to help them meet the needs of all their pupils.
Through the dedicated schools grant (DSG), Devon local authority is receiving over £560.1 million for mainstream schools in financial year 2025/26, or £6,195 per pupil on average (excluding growth and falling rolls funding). This represents a 2.4% increase in per pupil funding compared to the 2024/25 financial year, excluding growth and falling rolls funding.
The NFF accounts for the particular challenges faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factor. All schools attract a lump sum of £145,100 which provides a fixed amount of funding that is unrelated to pupil-led factors. Additionally, eligible primary schools attract up to £57,400, and all other schools up to £83,400, in sparsity funding in financial year 2025/26. Through the 2025/26 NFF, 148 schools in Devon attract sparsity funding.
We will review the schools NFF for 2026/27 and beyond to ensure that we get any changes right, recognising the importance of a fair funding system that directs funding where it is needed.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to increase per-pupil funding in Devon to the national average.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The purpose of the national funding formula (NFF) is not to give every school the same level of per pupil funding. It is right that schools with more pupils with additional needs, such as those indicated by measures of deprivation, receive extra funding to help them meet the needs of all their pupils.
Through the dedicated schools grant (DSG), Devon local authority is receiving over £560.1 million for mainstream schools in financial year 2025/26, or £6,195 per pupil on average (excluding growth and falling rolls funding). This represents a 2.4% increase in per pupil funding compared to the 2024/25 financial year, excluding growth and falling rolls funding.
The NFF accounts for the particular challenges faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factor. All schools attract a lump sum of £145,100 which provides a fixed amount of funding that is unrelated to pupil-led factors. Additionally, eligible primary schools attract up to £57,400, and all other schools up to £83,400, in sparsity funding in financial year 2025/26. Through the 2025/26 NFF, 148 schools in Devon attract sparsity funding.
We will review the schools NFF for 2026/27 and beyond to ensure that we get any changes right, recognising the importance of a fair funding system that directs funding where it is needed.