Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many local authority schools have been placed in special measures by Ofsted in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion of inspected schools were placed in such measures by Ofsted in each of those years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to you and a copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government has made an assessment of parents' preferences between increasing (a) faith and (b) non-faith school places.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The latest figures for the secondary school application round show that there is a higher demand by parents for places in faith schools in relation to offers than there is for non-faith school places. They also show that parents’ relative preferences for faith and non-faith school places have remained stable over the last 3 years.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the article in The Times of 14 February 2017 in the name of the Minister of State for School Standards, what evidence her Department has for the positive response of the Archbishop of Canterbury to proposals to lift the 50 per cent cap on religious selection by free schools.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Church of England and the Archbishop of Canterbury have responded positively to our proposal to expand the number of high-quality faith schools. The Church of England has worked with us to deliver new places through the free schools programme and they have opened 14 free schools to date.
As the Archbishop made clear in his article in the Times Education Supplement of 23 September 2016, the Church of England are drawing up ambitious plans to open many more free schools. We look forward to receiving those applications.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the article in The Times of 14 February 2017 in the name of the Minister of State for School Standards, what the evidential basis is for her statement that there is significant parental demand for good faith schools; and whether she has made an assessment of such demand being for faith schools rather than for good schools.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
In the 2016 secondary school application round non-faith school first preferences to offers ratio was 0.98. For faith schools the ratio was 1.08.
The data, which the Department collects on admissions and school choice, does not enable an assessment to be made as to the specific reason why parents are more likely to make faith schools their first preference.
There are often a range of factors that affect how parents choose a particular school, such as location, type of school, whether a sibling already attends, feeder arrangements, reputation and Ofsted rating. It is therefore not possible to make a precise assessment as to what is the main reason why parents are more likely to make a faith school their first preference.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 18 October 2016 to Question 47734, whether Ofsted's inspection of sex and relationships education taught in academies includes an assessment of whether the curriculum is inclusive of LGBT young people.
Answered by Nick Gibb
This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to you and a copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of (a) academies and (b) maintained secondary schools that provide sex and relationships education.
Answered by Edward Timpson
We do not collect data on the curriculum provision of individual schools, including on the provision of sex education. Sex education is compulsory in all maintained secondary schools. Primary maintained schools and academies are encouraged to teach it as an important part of delivering a balanced curriculum.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on providing student loan finance that is compliant with Islamic law.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
This Government has introduced the primary legislation required to allow alternative student finance, consistent with the principles of Islamic finance, to be offered alongside grants and loans. The Higher Education and Research Bill is currently before Parliament.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Government plans to publish its response to the consultation on early years funding.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government’s recent consultation ‘Early years funding: changes to funding for 3- and 4-year-olds’ closed on 22 September 2016. We are analysing responses and are on track to publish the Government Response shortly.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons her Department collects data on pupils' nationality and country of birth; and how that data is used.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The new data on nationality, country of birth and English language proficiency will, for the first time, assist the understanding of the impact of migration on schools. For example, what extra support the Government may need to provide to schools with high numbers of children who do not speak English as a first language. It will also help to plan for enough good school places for every child.
Without the evidence and data, the Department cannot have a clear picture of how the school system is working. It will ensure that funds are allocated where needed and that no groups of children miss out on the education they deserve.
The new data on nationality and country of birth is solely for DfE analysts to use for research. This data has not been shared outside the Department.
To address any uncertainties regarding how this information should be collected or used, an information note is placed in the House Libraries.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of the selection processes used by faith schools on academic attainment in those schools.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Faith schools are amongst some of the highest performing in this country and are more likely to be rated good or outstanding by Ofsted as compared to non-faith schools. The department does not routinely collect information about individual schools’ admission arrangements. Schools designated with a religious character can choose to give priority to children on the basis of their faith, where the school is oversubscribed. It is though for the admission authority of the school to decide whether or not to prioritise some or all of their places on the basis of faith within their oversubscription criteria.
On 9th September the Prime Minister announced that we will remove the 50 per cent cap on new faith free schools and consult on a new set of much more effective requirements to ensure that new faith free schools are properly inclusive. The consultation document, 'Schools that work for everyone', is available at: https://consult.education.gov.uk/school-frameworks/schools-that-work-for-everyone