Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children have been removed from schools rolls for home elective education for each school in Derbyshire in each of the last six years.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has collected data on compulsory school-aged children in elective home education from local authorities on a termly basis since autumn 2022. Figures are available by local authority in the publication available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/elective-home-education/2024-25-autumn-term.
In most cases, there is no legal obligation on parents to request permission or notify the school or local authority that they are withdrawing their child from school to home educate them.
As parents currently have no legal duty to inform local authorities when they are home educating, local authorities cannot be assured that they are fulfilling this duty towards all children living in their areas.
This is why the Children’s Wellbeing and School Bill, which is currently at Committee Stage in the House of Lords, will introduce compulsory Children Not in School Registers in every local authority in England and Wales. These measures will help local authorities to identify all children not in school in their areas, including those not in receipt of safe or suitable education, and to act where this is the case.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children have been removed from schools rolls for home elective education by local authority in each of the last six years.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has collected data on compulsory school-aged children in elective home education from local authorities on a termly basis since autumn 2022. Figures are available by local authority in the publication available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/elective-home-education/2024-25-autumn-term.
In most cases, there is no legal obligation on parents to request permission or notify the school or local authority that they are withdrawing their child from school to home educate them.
As parents currently have no legal duty to inform local authorities when they are home educating, local authorities cannot be assured that they are fulfilling this duty towards all children living in their areas.
This is why the Children’s Wellbeing and School Bill, which is currently at Committee Stage in the House of Lords, will introduce compulsory Children Not in School Registers in every local authority in England and Wales. These measures will help local authorities to identify all children not in school in their areas, including those not in receipt of safe or suitable education, and to act where this is the case.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that children being home schooled are receiving (a) a high level of education and (b) in a safe environment.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has collected data on compulsory school-aged children in elective home education from local authorities on a termly basis since autumn 2022. Figures are available by local authority in the publication available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/elective-home-education/2024-25-autumn-term.
In most cases, there is no legal obligation on parents to request permission or notify the school or local authority that they are withdrawing their child from school to home educate them.
As parents currently have no legal duty to inform local authorities when they are home educating, local authorities cannot be assured that they are fulfilling this duty towards all children living in their areas.
This is why the Children’s Wellbeing and School Bill, which is currently at Committee Stage in the House of Lords, will introduce compulsory Children Not in School Registers in every local authority in England and Wales. These measures will help local authorities to identify all children not in school in their areas, including those not in receipt of safe or suitable education, and to act where this is the case.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of cuts to the continuing professional development budget for science teachers on teacher retention rates.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government is focused on fixing our economy after inheriting a £22 billion black hole in our public finances. That means we must take difficult decisions across our public services.
All children should have high quality science teaching, which is why at the Autumn Budget education was prioritised with a £2.3 billion increase to core school budgets for the 2025/26 financial year. Schools can use this funding for continued professional development, which evidence suggests can support teacher retention.
In addition, the department will continue to fully fund the Subject Knowledge for Physics Teachers programme to support the uptake and teaching of physics in the 2025/26 financial year.
However, along with other tough decisions to support cross-government efforts to rebuild economic stability, the department has taken the difficult decision to cease funding the Stimulating Physics Network beyond the end of its current contract in March 2025.
There is a range of other support for science education in schools, including free, optional materials from Oak National Academy in all three sciences.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has allocated to continuing professional development for science teachers in the financial years (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Support for high quality science teaching mainly comes from core school budgets which will increase by £2.3 billion in the 2025/26 financial year.
Funding allocations for continuing professional development in science were £8,385,649 for the 2022/23 financial year, £8,384,137 for the 2023/24 financial year and £4,455,281 for the 2024/25 financial year.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department provides to the educating organisation as an annual per pupil rate for an A Level student studying at (a) school, (b) sixth form college and (c) further education college.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department calculates the basic funding for institutions for students aged 16 to 19 or students up to the age of 25 when they have an education, health and care (EHC) plan using funding rates, which depend on the size of the student’s study programme.
All students are funded at the same national funding rates per student, per year, regardless of which type of institution they study at. However, the department then applies the other elements of the 16 to 19 funding formula, such as programme cost weights, support for disadvantage and area costs, meaning average per student funding levels do differ between schools, sixth form colleges and further education colleges. Because the funding reflects the mix of programmes provided at each institution, the department does not have data on the rates of funding purely for A level students at these different organisations.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the requirement for students studying Level 2 FE college courses to also study Maths and English GCSE if they have not already achieved that standard prior to enrolling on that course.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department considers level 2 English and mathematics to be essential for enabling students to achieve and to seize opportunities in life, learning and work.
The Curriculum and Assessment Review is looking at how best to support 16 to 19-year-olds who currently do not achieve level 2 in English and mathematics by the age of 16.
The department is already strengthening the support offered to students under the mathematics and English condition of funding for students on 16-19 study programmes and T Levels who have not yet attained level 2 English and mathematics. This includes requiring providers to offer minimum hours of in-person, whole class, stand-alone teaching in English and mathematics, and for more students to be offered this.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the remit of Skills England will be.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Skills England will ensure the supply of skills needed for growth, which is crucial for supporting the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and to kickstart economic growth.
Skills England will bring together businesses, education and training providers, unions, and regional and national government to ensure we have the highly trained workforce needed to deliver the government’s forthcoming industrial strategy.
It will work with the Migration Advisory Committee to make sure skills training in England accounts for the overall needs of the labour market, and it will coordinate between local areas to ensure everyone can access all the opportunities available.
The government’s ambition for Skills England is that it will bring coherence to the assessment of skills’ needs and to the training landscape. It will ensure that training programmes are well designed and delivered so that they meet these needs and ensure businesses have the highly skilled workforce they require to thrive.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department issues guidance for schools on maintaining safe CO2 levels in classrooms.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The department has published ‘Building Bulletin 101’, which provides non-statutory guidance on ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality in schools. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings.
The department has also produced guidance on using CO2 monitors and managing ventilation, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-co-monitors-and-air-cleaning-units-in-education-and-care-settings.
Further guidance on ventilation is included in the ‘Good Estate Management for Schools guide’, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools/health-and-safety.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children at (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Derbyshire have Education, Health and Care plans; and how many such children are receiving education in line with the plan.
Answered by David Johnston
The department does not hold the data requested. The department does publish data online in relation to special educational needs (SEN), including:
The local authority can provide further information on children with SEN in Derbyshire.