Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will conduct a review of (a) the financial sustainability of rural secondary schools and (b) contingency planning for communities and pupils in the event that such a school should be financially unsustainable.

The sparsity factor in the national funding formula allocates additional funding of £25 million specifically to remote schools. A small, rural secondary school will attract up to £65,000 through the sparsity factor. Combined with the lump sum of £110,000, this provides significant support for the small and remote schools that play an essential role in rural communities.

The national funding formula is the result of an extensive consultation, with over 26,000 responses. We are keeping the sparsity factor under review, along with all the elements of the funding formula. We will consider improvements in consultation with stakeholders.

Statutory guidance on closing local authority maintained schools includes a presumption against closure which requires decision makers to ensure that the case for closure is strong, before approving the closure of a rural school. This means that decision makers should consider factors such as the likely effect of the closure of the school on the local community, educational standards at the school, the impact on standards at neighbouring schools, the availability of transport to other schools, and any alternatives to the closure of the school.

The closure of academies is a matter for my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State and he will consider the requirements of the presumption against the closure of rural schools when considering the closure of a rural academy, in the same way that local authorities do for maintained schools. There are no current plans to review the closure process.