Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to introduce non-statutory guidance on a whole school approach for preventing violence against women and girls in education settings.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department proposed to publish non-statutory guidance focusing on teaching about sexual harassment, sexual violence and violence against women and girls in response to a report by Ofsted into sexual abuse in schools and colleges following the tragic death of Sarah Everard. Once the current review of the Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) statutory guidance is complete, the department will consider how best to support schools to teach about this topic.
A new draft statutory RSHE guidance will be released at the earliest opportunity, which will then be subject to public consultation.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the real term changes in funding for schools in Portsmouth South constituency between 2023-24 and 2024-25 on a) educational attainment of pupils b) classroom sizes and c) classroom resources.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to providing a world-class education system for all children and has invested significantly in education to achieve that.
Nationally, funding for both mainstream schools and high needs, including additional funding for teachers’ pay, is over £1.8 billion higher in 2024/25, compared to 2023/24. The overall core school budget will total over £59.6 billion in 2024/25. This is the highest ever in real terms per pupil.
Through the schools National Funding Formula (NFF), the department calculates and publishes notional funding allocations for each mainstream school. These are aggregated at local authority level and, following an update in pupil numbers, are used to calculate each local authority’s Dedicated School Grant (DSG) allocations. Each local authority then determines individual schools’ final funding allocations through their own local formula.
Through the 2023/24 notional NFF, schools in Portsmouth South are allocated an average £5,814 per pupil. Through the 2024/25 notional NFF, schools in Portsmouth South are allocated an average £6,135 per pupil. This is a cash increase of 2.0% compared to 2023/24. This increase is after taking into account the mainstream schools additional grant (MSAG), which the department has rolled into the schools NFF in 2024/25, to ensure that this additional funding forms an on-going part of schools’ core budgets.
These constituency figures are based on an aggregation of school-level allocations. Schools’ actual allocations are based on local authorities’ funding formulae.
The figures do not include the additional funding the department is providing through the Teachers Pay Additional Grant (TPAG). Nor do they include other grants, such as the Pupil Premium.
The government provides these increases to school revenue budgets so that schools can cover cost increases in the year ahead. However, schools have autonomy over their own spending and should use this to raise attainment as well as to manage their classroom resources.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the real term change in average per pupil spending was in Portsmouth South constituency between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 financial years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to providing a world-class education system for all children and has invested significantly in education to achieve that.
Nationally, funding for both mainstream schools and high needs, including additional funding for teachers’ pay, is over £1.8 billion higher in 2024/25, compared to 2023/24. The overall core school budget will total over £59.6 billion in 2024/25. This is the highest ever in real terms per pupil.
Through the schools National Funding Formula (NFF), the department calculates and publishes notional funding allocations for each mainstream school. These are aggregated at local authority level and, following an update in pupil numbers, are used to calculate each local authority’s Dedicated School Grant (DSG) allocations. Each local authority then determines individual schools’ final funding allocations through their own local formula.
Through the 2023/24 notional NFF, schools in Portsmouth South are allocated an average £5,814 per pupil. Through the 2024/25 notional NFF, schools in Portsmouth South are allocated an average £6,135 per pupil. This is a cash increase of 2.0% compared to 2023/24. This increase is after taking into account the mainstream schools additional grant (MSAG), which the department has rolled into the schools NFF in 2024/25, to ensure that this additional funding forms an on-going part of schools’ core budgets.
These constituency figures are based on an aggregation of school-level allocations. Schools’ actual allocations are based on local authorities’ funding formulae.
The figures do not include the additional funding the department is providing through the Teachers Pay Additional Grant (TPAG). Nor do they include other grants, such as the Pupil Premium.
The government provides these increases to school revenue budgets so that schools can cover cost increases in the year ahead. However, schools have autonomy over their own spending and should use this to raise attainment as well as to manage their classroom resources.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of schools have not completed the Government survey on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
It is the responsibility of those who run schools - academy trusts, Local Authorities and voluntary aided school bodies - to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert the department if there is a serious concern with a building. It has always been the case that where the department is made aware a building may pose an immediate risk, immediate action is taken.
All responsible bodies were requested to complete a questionnaire. We now have responses to these questionnaires for all of the schools with blocks built in the target era, of which there are 15,158.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost to the public purse has been of school building repairs in each year since 2019.
Answered by Nick Gibb
It is the responsibility of those who run schools - academy trusts, Local Authorities and voluntary aided school bodies - to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert the Department if there is a serious concern with a building. It has always been the case that where the Department is made aware of a building that may pose an immediate risk, immediate action is taken.
The Department will spend what it takes to keep children safe. This includes paying for the emergency mitigation work needed to make buildings safe, including alternative classroom space where necessary, and supporting schools with remedial works – this is the Department’s immediate focus. Where schools need additional help with revenue costs like transport to other locations, the Department is actively engaging with every school affected to put appropriate support in place. The Department expects to fund all reasonable revenue costs related to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). It will also fund refurbishment projects, or rebuilding projects where needed, to rectify RAAC for the long term.
The Department is providing funding to improve the condition of the school estate, with over £15 billion allocated since 2015, including £1.8 billion committed for 2023/24. This funding is informed by consistent data on the condition of the estate. On top of this, the Department will transform 500 schools through its School Rebuilding Programme, prioritising buildings in the poorest condition and those with evidence of potential safety issues.
Local authorities, larger multi academy trusts and larger voluntary aided school bodies are eligible to receive an annual School Condition Allocation (SCA) for maintaining and improving the condition of the schools for which they are responsible. Small and standalone academy trusts, small voluntary aided school bodies and sixth-form colleges are instead able to bid into the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) each year for specific capital projects to improve the condition of their buildings. Further details are available at the following address: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-improvement-fund. Schools also receive Devolved Formula Capital (DFC) each year to spend on small capital projects or contribute to larger projects. As part of the overall condition funding allocated, the Department has provided one off allocations in some years. This includes £560 million in 2020/21 allocated through SCA and CIF, as well as £447 million allocated in 2022/23 to improve buildings prioritising energy efficiency.
Details of SCA and DFC, as well as overall funding for the Condition Improvement Fund, for the current financial year are available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-capital-funding#funding-allocations-for-the-2022-to-2023-financial-year; and for previous years, including one off allocations, at: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/*/https:/www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-allocations.
The figures do not include capital funding for the Department’s rebuilding programmes, which are delivering rebuilt and refurbished school buildings across the country.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of schools have not yet completed the Government survey on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Answered by Nick Gibb
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department's surveys of school buildings are visual inspections.
Answered by Nick Gibb
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has considered the potential merits of including in statutory guidance on relationships, sex and health education a requirement for pupils to be taught about the health risks associated with e-cigarettes and vapes.
Answered by Nick Gibb
On 1 June 2023, the Prime Minister announced an intervention which will take steps to prevent children obtaining e-cigarettes illegally. The Department is planning to include a specific reference to the dangers of e-cigarettes in the amended relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum.
The RSHE statutory guidance, which sets out the curriculum topics, already states that in primary and secondary school, pupils should be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks. This includes smoking, alcohol use, and drug taking. To support schools to deliver this content effectively, the Department published a suite of teacher training modules, including drugs, alcohol and tobacco, which makes specific reference to e-cigarettes.
In addition, drugs, alcohol and tobacco are taught in compulsory health education. This supplements drug education which is part of the National Curriculum for Key Stages 2 and 3 science.
Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that sets out what is expected of all pupils, including what items are banned from school premises. This should be communicated to all pupils, parents and school staff.
Schools have the autonomy to decide which items should be banned from their premises, and these can include e-cigarettes. Items banned by the school can be searched for as outlined in the department’s searching, screening and confiscation guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/searching-screening-and-confiscation.
The Department believes that this will help head teachers to manage the use of e-cigarettes on school premises and to inform young people about the risks, with a view to reducing the numbers of pupils who are currently using e-cigarettes, or who might be tempted to try it in the future.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of pay for supply teachers employed through education recruitment agencies.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools have the freedom to make staffing decisions that meet their circumstances. This means schools, academies and Local Authorities are responsible for the recruitment of their workforces, including whether to use supply agencies for supply staff.
If a supply teacher is employed by a private employment agency, the agency can decide their salary. As this is a commercial arrangement between the school or Local Authority and the agency, the Department is unable to intervene in matters concerning the terms of their employment or their pay. Supply teachers are free to register with multiple agencies to find the best pay and conditions to meet their own circumstances.
Under the Agency Workers Regulations, an agency supply teacher is entitled to receive the same pay and conditions of employment as teachers employed by the school or the Local Authority after 12 weeks in the same role with the same school or Local Authority. Guidance on the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/agency-workers-regulations-2010-guidance-for-recruiters.
In August 2018, in conjunction with the Crown Commercial Service, the Department for Education launched the agency supply deal. The deal supports schools with getting value for money when hiring agency supply teachers and other temporary staff.
The deal has established a list of preferred suppliers that schools can access, all of which:
Details of the deal can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/deal-for-schools-hiring-supply-teachers-and-agency-workers.
Education is a devolved matter, meaning the devolved administrations set their own policy on supply teacher pay and conditions.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to reduce the number of music education hubs; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In June 2022, the Department for Education and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport published the National Plan for Music Education, setting out a commitment to high quality music education for all children and young people.
As part of the Plan, the Department announced its intention to work in partnership with Arts Council England to re-compete the role of Music Hub lead organisations and see a reduced number of lead organisations establishing partnerships across wider geographical areas. The Department wants lead organisations to become more strategic, building a wider range of strong partnerships with schools, academy trusts, Local Authorities and others for children and young people to receive high-quality support in every local area, including those where provision may currently be limited.
Working in partnership with the Department, Arts Council England undertook a two stage consultation at the beginning of the year to inform the competition and reform of the geography of the Music Hub network. The findings of the consultation were announced, as well as the change from 117 to 43 lead organisations. Arts Council England subsequently launched the Music Hub Investment Programme to compete the role of lead organisations, with newly completed organisations starting in September 2024. This is a significant reform that should result in more partnerships at a local level working with each Music Hub lead organisation, to support schools, children and young people to improve quality and access to high quality music education.