Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the efficacy of the financial management of Bright Tribe Academy Trust.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Bright Tribe Trust, along with all academy trusts, is subject to a rigorous system of oversight and accountability, allowing us to take action to deal with under-performance, including transferring schools to new trusts when necessary. The Education and Skills Funding Agency has worked with Bright Tribe Trust since 2015 to ensure the best outcomes for their pupils and academies.
More broadly, it is important to place the Bright Tribe case into context and emphasise that the financial health of the academies sector is strong; and in the most recent published financial statements, we found that more than 95% of trusts had no issues.
Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
How many schools will not receive a cash terms increase in their budget per pupil in 2018-19.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department are spending record sums on school funding, rising from £41 billion to £42.4 billion this year and £43.5 billion next year.
The national funding formula (NFF) gives every local authority more money for every pupil in every school in 2018-19 and 2019-20. To help in transition to the NFF, local authorities have flexibility on how this funding is distributed in their local area.
Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
What assessment he has made of the effect of the Government’s policy on funded childcare on the financial viability of childcare settings.
Answered by Anne Milton
By 2019-20, we will be spending approximately £6 billion a year on childcare support, including £1 billion to deliver 30 hours of free childcare and pay the higher funding rates that were introduced in April 2017.
These rates were based on our ‘Review of Childcare Costs’, which was described as thorough and wide ranging by the National Audit Office.
We are providing tailored support to providers on business sustainability and continue to monitor the implementation of 30 hours of free childcare.
Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to require all maintained schools to have a medical conditions policy and to display such a policy publicly on their school website; and if he will make statement.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The government recognises the importance of supporting pupils at school with medical conditions. Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 introduced a duty that requires governing boards to make arrangements to support pupils with medical conditions. Most schools manage these issues well and take their responsibilities towards pupils with such conditions seriously, making sure that the medical needs of their pupils are being met.
The department works with organisations such as the Health Conditions in Schools Alliance to raise awareness of the duty, and recently promoted it through the department’s social media channels.
Governing boards should ensure that schools develop a policy for supporting pupils with medical conditions that is reviewed regularly and is readily accessible to parents and school staff. We keep the guidance under review, including in the context of school awareness, and the role it plays in securing accessibility of school policies.
This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.
Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to raise awareness of schools of their duty to protect and enable pupils with medical conditions.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The government recognises the importance of supporting pupils at school with medical conditions. Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 introduced a duty that requires governing boards to make arrangements to support pupils with medical conditions. Most schools manage these issues well and take their responsibilities towards pupils with such conditions seriously, making sure that the medical needs of their pupils are being met.
The department works with organisations such as the Health Conditions in Schools Alliance to raise awareness of the duty, and recently promoted it through the department’s social media channels.
Governing boards should ensure that schools develop a policy for supporting pupils with medical conditions that is reviewed regularly and is readily accessible to parents and school staff. We keep the guidance under review, including in the context of school awareness, and the role it plays in securing accessibility of school policies.
This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.