Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Government plans to consult on statutory guidance on Relationships and Sex Education provided for in the Children and Social Work Act 2017.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Children and Social Work Act (2017) places a duty on the Secretary of State for Education to make Relationships Education mandatory in all primary schools, and Relationships and Sex Education mandatory in all secondary schools, in England.
As part of our next steps, the Department intends to conduct a thorough and wide ranging engagement on Relationships Education and Relationships and Sex Education. This will determine the content of the regulations and statutory guidance, covering subject content, school practice and quality of delivery. We will ensure the subjects are carefully designed to safeguard and support pupils whilst being deliverable for schools.
The Department is fully committed to this programme of work and will set out shortly more details about the engagement process, the timetable and the work to consider age appropriate subject content.
This will result in draft regulations and guidance on which we will consult. Following consultation, regulations will be laid in the House allowing for a full and considered debate.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to (a) increase core schools' funding in (i) England and (ii) Hampshire and (b) introduce a fairer funding formula for schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, announced an additional £1.3 billion for schools and high needs across 2018-19 and 2019-20, in addition to the schools budget set at Spending Review 2015, on 17 July. As a result, core funding for schools will rise from almost £41 billion in 2017-18 to £42.4 billion in 2018-19 and £43.5 billion in 2019-20, representing an increase in the total schools budget of over 6% between this year and 2019-20. This means funding per pupil will now be maintained in real terms for the remaining two years of this Spending Review.
We have now announced details of the new national funding formulae, meaning that from April 2018 funding will finally be allocated on a fair and transparent basis. We have announced the funding that will be allocated for all schools in England, including schools in Hampshire, under the formula. Full details are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-tables-for-schools-and-high-needs.
Together these reforms will give schools a firm foundation that will enable them to continue to raise standards, promote social mobility, and give every child the best possible education.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the Government will make an assessment of the effect on educational (a) provision and (b) outcomes of the physical condition of the 1960s Second Consortium of Local Authorities schools in (i) Hampshire and (ii) North East Hampshire.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Education Funding Agency (EFA) will collect information on the condition of Second Consortium of Local Authorities (SCOLA) school buildings in Hampshire and North East Hampshire as part of the Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme. The CDC will run from 2017 to autumn 2019 and is a high-level, visual and non-invasive collection of consistent condition information for all government funded schools in England. It is the successor to the Property Data Survey (PDS) which collected condition information on the education estate between 2012 and 2014.
The CDC will assess the condition of school buildings and how they have changed since the PDS but it will not provide any assessment of the effect on educational provision or outcomes. The CDC will provide the EFA with an improved and up to date evidence base which will help inform future funding allocations and help direct investment to the areas with the greatest condition need. It will also help identify school buildings for inclusion in future rebuilding programmes and help those responsible for maintaining buildings develop their building management data.
In most cases, CDC condition information will be made available to a school and its responsible body within 8-10 weeks of the school’s site visit.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the Government will provide more support for Hampshire County Council to cover the building condition liabilities of the Second Consortium of Local Authorities schools in that county.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is investing over £24bn in school buildings from 2016- 2021 to maintain schools, rebuild and replace buildings in the worst condition, and ensure there are enough school places in the system. This includes over £10 billion allocated for maintaining and improving the condition of the school estate from 2016-2021.
Hampshire County Council received £19,367,940 in school condition allocations in 2015-16 and £19,370,943 in 2016-17 which allows them to make localised decisions to address their individual priorities such as maintaining the condition of their school estate. These are indicative of the allocation Hampshire will receive in 2017-18, which will be announced shortly. These figures do not include school condition allocations to multi-academy trusts with schools in Hampshire.
While this funding is not aimed specifically at SCOLA schools, it is allocated using a formula which takes into account data on the condition of school buildings gathered through the Property Data Survey.
The Department is updating its information on the condition of the school estate through the Condition Data Collection, which will provide information on areas of the highest condition need and drive our approach on how we invest in order to target them.
Schools in Hampshire have also received £5,009,333 in devolved formula capital in 2016-17. Fifteen academies in Hampshire also bid successfully for funding through the Condition Improvement Fund last year. We expect to announce successful projects in this year’s CIF round by April 2017.
Six schools in Hampshire are included in the £4.4 billion Priority School Building Programme aimed at rebuilding or refurbishing those school buildings in the very worst condition across the country.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the condition of schools built in the 1960s under Second Consortium of Local Authorities programme in (a) Hampshire and (b) North East Hampshire.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Property Data Survey (PDS) was carried out to gather high level condition data on schools in the education estate, in order to better inform the Department on how to allocate capital funding to schools. The PDS provided condition data on 18,830 schools in England and provided condition data on each block in schools (59,967 blocks across the school estate).
Information on the age of school blocks was collected through the PDS and the categories used to define the age of blocks were Pre 1919, Inter War, 1945 to 1966, 1967 to 1976, post 1976 and temporary premises. The PDS did not specifically identify blocks built between 1960 and 1969. We did, however, identify buildings built between 1945 to 1966 and 1967 to 1976.
The PDS gathered condition data on a majority of schools in Hampshire. The Department does not hold specific condition information on blocks built in the 1960s under the Second Consortium of Local Authorities programme.
The Department is currently undertaking a new data collection; the Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme. This is the successor to the PDS. It aims to build on the successes of PDS in collecting independent centrally managed data about the condition of the school estate nationally.
The programme will commence in February 2017 and continue until autumn 2019. We aim to collect data on all state funded schools excluding Independent Specialist Providers, Special Post 16 Institutions and Further Education colleges. The data collected should provide information on areas of the highest condition need and drive our approach on how we invest in order to prioritise funding.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the condition of schools built in the 1960s under Second Consortium of Local Authorities programme.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Property Data Survey (PDS) was carried out to gather high level condition data on schools in the education estate, in order to better inform the Department on how to allocate capital funding to schools. The PDS provided condition data on 18,830 schools in England and provided condition data on each block in schools (59,967 blocks across the school estate).
Information on the age of school blocks was collected through the PDS and the categories used to define the age of blocks were Pre 1919, Inter War, 1945 to 1966, 1967 to 1976, post 1976 and temporary premises. The PDS did not specifically identify blocks built between 1960 and 1969. We did, however, identify buildings built between 1945 to 1966 and 1967 to 1976.
The PDS gathered condition data on a majority of schools in Hampshire. The Department does not hold specific condition information on blocks built in the 1960s under the Second Consortium of Local Authorities programme.
The Department is currently undertaking a new data collection; the Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme. This is the successor to the PDS. It aims to build on the successes of PDS in collecting independent centrally managed data about the condition of the school estate nationally.
The programme will commence in February 2017 and continue until autumn 2019. We aim to collect data on all state funded schools excluding Independent Specialist Providers, Special Post 16 Institutions and Further Education colleges. The data collected should provide information on areas of the highest condition need and drive our approach on how we invest in order to prioritise funding.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that more classic literature is taught in schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
All pupils in secondary schools should be encouraged to enjoy challenging titles and develop a confidence and ability to read the great classics of English and world literature.
The Government is delighted that, following our call for action, Penguin is offering classroom sets of 100 classic books for the equivalent of £1 a copy. This will allow pupils to read a wide range of literature with the support of their teacher. I hope other publishers will follow, to make classic literature a feature of every classroom.