Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the level of plagiarism in the education sector; and what steps her Department is taking to tackle plagiarism.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Cheating of any kind is unacceptable. It threatens to undermine the reputation of our world-class education sector and devalues the hard work of those who succeed on their own merit.
Ofqual require Awarding Organisations to have robust policies and procedures in place to prevent, detect, and deal with malpractice, including plagiarism.
The Joint Council for Qualifications have published guidance to support schools and colleges to identify and address concerns about plagiarism in exams and assessments, which can be found at: https://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/malpractice/plagiarism-in-assessments---guidance-for-teachersassessors/.
Higher education providers are independent bodies responsible for their own approaches to preventing academic misconduct by students, including plagiarism, but are regulated in relation their assessment practices by the Office for Students (OfS). The OfS sets the expectation that assessments must be designed in a way that minimises opportunities for misconduct and facilitates its detection where it does occur.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to reinstate two weeks of compulsory work experience in schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Earlier this year, we updated the careers statutory guidance reflecting the revised Gatsby Benchmarks of good careers guidance and included the new definition of meaningful workplace experiences to raise the quality of work experience.
In this guidance we also set out the vision for this government’s priority for the delivery of two weeks’ worth of meaningful work experience for all pupils over the course of their secondary education, irrespective of background.
Building on the Gatsby Benchmark 6 definition for Experiences of Workplaces, we will ensure that all pupils have multiple, meaningful and varied high-quality workplace experiences, including one weeks’ worth of workplace activities between years 7-9 and one weeks’ worth of work placement between years 10-11, progressively increasing their exposure to different places of work.
We are currently piloting a new flexible model of work experience, designed to reduce barriers for young people, schools and employers. The department will set out more details of the work experience guarantee in due course.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding she plans to provide to (a) the National Careers Service, (b) the Education and Training Foundation, (c) WorldSkills UK and (d) the Careers and Enterprise Company in the 2025-26 academic or financial year.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As part of our Plan for Change, the government is investing in skills in order to drive economic growth and break down barriers to opportunity. The overall programme resource budget for apprenticeships, further education and higher education in the 2025/26 financial year is £15.8 billion. This includes funding for the National Careers Service, the Education and Training Foundation, WorldSkills UK, and the Careers and Enterprise Company.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools received a lump sum payment in the last financial year; and for how many of those schools the lump sum represented (i) less than one, (ii) two to five, (iii) five to 10, (iv) 10 to 20, (v) 20 to 30, (vi) 30 to 40 and (vii) over 50 per cent of their total income.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The schools national funding formula (NFF) introduced in 2018 is used to distribute core funding for mainstream schools, for pupils from reception to year 11. The NFF determines how much funding each local authority receives, and local authorities then determine individual schools’ final allocations through their own local formulae.
In both the schools NFF and local authority formulae, the majority of funding is distributed on the basis of pupil numbers and pupil characteristics. In line with the formula introduced under the previous government, every school receives a contribution to the costs that do not vary with pupil numbers, which is why both the national and local funding formulae provide a lump sum for every school, irrespective of their size.
The table below summarises the proportion of the funding generated by local authority formulae that the lump sum represents in 2024/25.
Lump sum proportion | Number of schools |
<1% | 9 |
1<2% | 1,350 |
2<5% | 2,744 |
5<10% | 5,898 |
10<20% | 7,128 |
20<30% | 2,057 |
30<40% | 696 |
40<50% | 217 |
>=50% | 51 |
Total | 20,150 |
Further information can be found at the following link: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-funding-statistics/2024-25.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's transparency data entitled Breakfast clubs early adopters: schools in the scheme, published on 24 February 2025 and updated on 22 April 2025, for what reason 79 schools are no longer taking part in the scheme.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston to the answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 47782.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what number and proportion of Level 7 apprenticeship (a) starts and (b) completions were for people aged (i) under 22 and (ii) 22 or over, in each year for which data is available.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The attached file shows level 7 apprenticeship starts and achievements for the 2015/16 to 2023/24 academic years broken down by learner age as requested.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of looked after children (a) were and (b) were not Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children in each year since 2005.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information on the number of looked after children, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC), is submitted to the department on an annual basis and is published at local authority level in our statistical release at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions.
Figures on the number of UASC in each year since 2005 can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/32f71e7b-83b1-4494-96d7-08dd85738b16. This table also provides data on all children looked after at 31 March from which the number and proportion of non-UASC can be calculated. Similarly, the percentage of UASC can also be derived from this table.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 28 June 2019 to Question 267249 on Schools: Closures, what the (a) postcode, (b) local authority area and (c) rural and urban classification is of each school that has closed with no direct replacement provision in each year since 21 June 2019.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Information on closures of state-funded schools, including the urban/rural classification for each school, is available on the Get Information about Schools (GIAS) website, which can be found here: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Search?SelectedTab=Establishments.
GIAS records a number of different reasons for closure, including closure as a result of amalgamation, “closure” where a school has been replaced by a successor institution (including academy conversions), as well as outright closure of provision.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the document entitled List of schools in the breakfast clubs early adopters scheme, last updated 22 April 2025, for what reason the number of schools participating in the breakfast clubs early adopters scheme fell between the first publication of that list and its most recent published update.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The total number of schools participating in the breakfast clubs early adopters scheme has increased since the initial list was published on 24 February.
From the start of this term, the first 750 free breakfast clubs are opening in towns and cities across the country, supporting nearly 180,000 children with a healthy, nutritious start to their day.
Over 3,000 schools expressed interest in joining the programme, so some movement was always expected as the department confirmed the final list.
The department built in time between the announcement and the start of the scheme in order to work closely with schools, ensure plans were deliverable, and get clubs up and running from the first day of term.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which (a) state schools and (b) independent schools Ministers in her Department have visited since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The table below outlines information on the 69 schools visited by departmental Ministers, including the Secretary of State, between 4 July 2024 and 22 April 2025, in a Ministerial capacity. We have included state and independent primary, secondary and special schools.
Date | Setting | Independent or state? |
11/07/2024 | Woodmansterne Primary | State |
11/07/2024 | Albion Primary School | State |
18/07/2024 | Croftway Academy | State |
18/07/2024 | Iqra Primary School | State |
19/07/2024 | St Kentigern's RC Primary School | State |
19/07/2024 | Trinity CoE High School | State |
05/08/2024 | Fonthill Primary School | State |
13/08/2024 | Westcourt Primary School | State |
20/08/2024 | Harton Academy | State |
02/09/2024 | Perry Hall Primary School | State |
04/09/2024 | Elm Grove Primary School | State |
05/09/2024 | Dilkes Academy | State |
12/09/2024 | Barmston Village Primary School | State |
16/09/2024 | St Peters CofE Primary School | State |
27/09/2024 | Long Lawford Primary School | State |
27/09/2024 | Rugby Free Secondary School | State |
07/10/2024 | JCoSS - Jewish Community Secondary School | State |
10/10/2024 | Rimon Primary School | State |
10/10/2024 | Barry Primary School | State |
10/10/2024 | Weavers Academy | State |
11/10/2024 | Chantry Academy | State |
15/10/2024 | Manchester Academy | State |
15/10/2024 | Co-op Academy Manchester | State |
16/10/2024 | Westwood Academy | State |
17/10/2024 | Colville Primary School | State |
18/10/2024 | Mount Pleasant Primary School | State |
24/10/2024 | Lemington Riverside Primary School | State |
24/10/2024 | Beech Hill Primary School | State |
24/10/2024 | Regent Farm First School | State |
24/10/2024 | Sunningdale School | State |
24/10/2024 | Benedict Biscop C.E. Academy | State |
07/11/2024 | St Michael's CofE Primary Academy | State |
14/11/2024 | Waterville Primary School | State |
21/11/2024 | Reach Academy | State |
28/11/2024 | Hawley Primary School | State |
02/12/2024 | Becontree Primary School | State |
05/12/2024 | Chesterton Primary School | State |
05/12/2024 | Haygrove School | State |
10/12/2024 | The Cavendish School | Independent |
11/12/2024 | Campion School | State |
16/12/2024 | Harris Academy St John's Wood | State |
16/01/2025 | All Saints Catholic Primary School | State |
22/01/2025 | Haberdashers Knights Academy | State |
30/01/2025 | Malmesbury Primary School | State |
31/01/2025 | Rushey Mead Academy | State |
10/02/2025 | Outwood Academy Adwick | State |
13/02/2025 | Richard Cloudesley School Golden Lane Campus | State |
20/02/2025 | Haltwhistle Primary Academy | State |
24/02/2025 | Peckover Primary School | State |
27/02/2025 | Ada Lovelace CofE High School | State |
06/03/2025 | Fair Furlong Community School | State |
14/03/2025 | Cardinal Heenan Catholic School | State |
17/03/2025 | Gatton School | State |
20/03/2025 | Oakdene Primary Academy | State |
20/03/2025 | King's College Maths School | State |
21/03/2025 | E-Act Parkwood Academy | State |
24/03/2025 | Minchinhampton Primary Academy | State |
24/03/2025 | Forest High School | State |
26/03/2025 | Cranmer Primary School | State |
31/03/2025 | Manor Fields School | State |
31/03/2025 | Fulbridge Academy | State |
01/04/2025 | Garden City Academy | State |
02/04/2025 | Millbank Gardens Primary Academy | State |
03/04/2025 | City Academy | State |
03/04/2025 | Mandeville Primary School | State |
16/04/2025 | Coleridge Primary School | State |
16/04/2025 | Ernest Bevin Academy | State |
22/04/2025 | Denbigh Primary School | State |