Found: consideration of the requirements of children in respect of town planning traditionally focuses on schools

Found: where they perceive thriving conditions for their children (such as community-based services, schools

Found: And there will be a corresponding huge reduction in the provision of funding for new schools, sports

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of (a) girls and (b) boys who play (i) football and (ii) other sports at (A) primary and (B) secondary school.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The department does not routinely collect data about which sports pupils participate in during the school day. It is up to schools to decide which sports they offer, so that they can meet the needs of their pupils. Factors influencing which sports schools may offer include the space and equipment available.

The department asked what types of sports were available to Year 7 to Year 11 pupils in the Parent, Pupil and Learner Panel, covering the 2021/22 academic year. Girls reported that they were less likely to have football, basketball, cricket and rugby available to them during PE lessons in comparison to boys. By contrast, girls did report that they were more likely to have rounders, netball, badminton, dance, gymnastics and volleyball available to them. Further information can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/parent-pupil-and-learner-panel-omnibus-surveys-for-2021-to-2022. Schools can and do separate sporting experiences for boys and girls on the grounds of safety and fairness, but they should take the time to reflect on how this affects girls and boys accessing the same sports equally.

The Active Lives Children and Young People Survey data for the 2022/23 academic year was published by Sport England on 7 December 2023 and shows a significant increase of 4 percentage points of girls in Years 1-11 playing football over the last week compared to the baseline data collected in the 2017/18 academic year. This data is accessible at: https://sportengland-production-files.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2023-12/Active%20Lives%20Children%20and%20Young%20People%20Survey%20-%20academic%20year%202022-23%20report.pdf?VersionId=3N7GGWZMKy88UPsGfnJVUZkaTklLwB_.

On 8 March 2023, the department announced over £600 million in for the primary PE and sport premium in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years, and £57 million up to March 2025 for the Opening School Facilities programme. Schools can use this funding to increase their sport provision, raise overall quality of PE and improve the opportunities for all boys and girls to access sports.

In July 2023, the government published the School Sport and Activity Action Plan, which set out the expectation for schools to provide girls and boys with the same access and opportunity to play sports in PE and wider school sport. To encourage this, the government has overseen a change to the School Games Mark, which is delivered by the Youth Sport Trust. From September 2023, schools must demonstrate how they are overcoming gender barriers faced by girls and boys in PE and wider school sport as part of their planning and delivery.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department are taking to ensure that developers are installing school sports pitches that are (a) safe and (b) meet quality standards.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The department does not monitor playing fields installed by developers. This is a matter for local planning authorities. Sport England are statutory consultees on planning applications which include outdoor PE facilities. They also provide separate guidance on good practice.

The School Premises (England) Regulations 2012 set regulations for physical education, including the playing of games outdoors. They are available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/1943/introduction/made.

The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 include the same regulation for independent schools, including academies. The Education Regulations are available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/3283/made.

Building Bulletin 103 and 104 (BB103/4) at Area guidelines and net capacity provide non-statutory guidance on what site area is needed to provide sufficient sports pitches for any school, depending on the type, age range and size. The guidelines are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/area-guidelines-and-net-capacity. Local Planning Authorities can require BB103/4 minimum standards to ensure that the site area will support the PE facilities needed.

The department’s Output Specification for new and refurbished school grounds applies to all school projects directly funded by the department. These are published and can be used by local authorities to set standards.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has taken recent steps to determine the prevalence of reinforced autoclave aerated concrete (RAAC) in school sport facilities; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of RAAC on (a) student access to sport facilities and (b) the Government's target of having equal access to sport for girls by 2025.

Answered by Nick Gibb

Nothing is more important than the safety of pupils and staff. It has always been the case that when made aware of a building that may pose an immediate risk, the Department has taken immediate action.

The Department has acted decisively and proactively to tackle this issue. The Department is working at pace to understand the prevalence of RAAC in our education estate, including in school sport facilities.

The Department issued a questionnaire in March 2022, asking responsible bodies to inform the Department of any suspected RAAC identified in their estates. Responsible bodies have submitted questionnaires for over 98% of schools with blocks built in the target era. The questionnaire remains open, and it is important that all responsible bodies submit and update their responses as more information becomes available.

Schools and colleges where RAAC is suspected are being fast-tracked for surveying, which is used to confirm whether RAAC is actually present. All schools and colleges that have already confirmed they suspect they might have RAAC will be surveyed within a matter of weeks, in many cases in a matter of days.

The School Sport and Activity Action Plan published in July 2023 set out how the Government funded School Games Mark will phase in equality criteria from September 2023 and become a mandatory part of the School Games Mark from September 2024.

The Government has committed to publishing non-statutory guidance by the end of the calendar year to support schools to learn from other schools who are delivering equality of access in the context of their wider curriculum.

In November 2021, the Department awarded the girls competitive sport contract to SLQ, worth up to £980,000 until 31 March 2024. The programme provides girls aged 8-16 with the skills and confidence to overcome some of the known barriers to their continued participation in competitive and sports leadership opportunities.

The Government understands that school facilities provide pupils with some of their first experiences of accessing sport and physical activity, which can support them to lead a lifetime of playing sport and being physically active. The Department has made up to £57 million available until March 2025 to support up to 1,350 schools to open their sport facilities outside of core school hours.

Schools can organise and deliver a diverse and challenging PE and school sport offer that best suits the needs of their pupils. Factors influencing that decision will include the impact of RAAC on spaces available for sports.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has made available to Solihull Council through the PE and sport premium in each of the last five years.

Answered by Nick Gibb

This Government is committed to providing a world class education system for all children and has invested significantly in education to achieve that. The Autumn Statement 2022 announced additional funding of £2 billion in each of 2023/24 and 2024/25, over and above totals announced at the 2021 Spending Review.

The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) allocation for the 2023/24 financial year for Solihull Local Authority is £111,607,639, after recoupment and deductions.

The Teachers’ Pension Grant allocation for 2022/23 for Solihull Local Authority is £163,559. The Teachers’ Pension Grant supports schools and Local Authorities with the cost of the increase in employer contributions to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme. Since 2021/22, most of this funding has been paid through the DSG, instead of as separate grants.

The Teachers’ Pay Grant and PE & Sport Premium allocations for Solihull Local Authority for the last five financial years can be found in the table below:

* The bulk of the funding for the Teachers’ Pay Grant was rolled into the DSG from 2021/22.

** September 2018 to March 2019 only.

Through the Primary PE and Sport Premium, the Department has allocated over £2 billion of ringfenced funding to primary schools to improve PE and sport since 2013. Schools can use this funding to make additional and sustainable improvements to the quality of the PE, sport and physical activity they provide.

The Department announced on 8 March 2023 over £600 million of Primary PE and Sport Premium funding across the next two academic years to support schools in providing more opportunities for pupils to be active by accessing high quality PE and school sport. This funding commitment will look to improve the quality of PE and sport provision in primary schools and will help children benefit from regular activity.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to enable children and young people to contribute to the development of the new School Sport and Activity Action Plan.

Answered by Nick Gibb

The update to the School Sport and Activity Action Plan will be published this summer and will build on the Government’s Physical Education (PE) and School Sport announcement on 8 March 2023. This confirmed funding for the PE and Sport Premium and School Games Organisers for an additional two academic years.

The Action Plan has been informed by data collected from over 100,000 pupils and young people annually through the Sport England’s Active Lives Survey. This survey collects data on pupils' behaviours and attitudes to sport and physical activity. The Department has also worked with a wide range of sector organisations and schools who share insight from teachers, parents, and pupils.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's estimated timeframe is for releasing the new School Sport and Activity Action Plan.

Answered by Nick Gibb

The update to the School Sport and Activity Action Plan will be published this summer and will build on the Government’s Physical Education (PE) and School Sport announcement on 8 March 2023. This confirmed funding for the PE and Sport Premium and School Games Organisers for an additional two academic years.

The Action Plan has been informed by data collected from over 100,000 pupils and young people annually through the Sport England’s Active Lives Survey. This survey collects data on pupils' behaviours and attitudes to sport and physical activity. The Department has also worked with a wide range of sector organisations and schools who share insight from teachers, parents, and pupils.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities have opportunities to take part in physical education and sport within schools.

Answered by Nick Gibb

Physical education (PE) is a foundation subject at all four Key Stages, and it is a vital part of a broad and balanced curriculum for all pupils to access. Schools are expected to develop a sporting curriculum that meets the needs of all pupils, during PE lessons and in extracurricular sporting activity.

On 8 March 2023, the Government committed over £600 million in funding over the next two years for primary schools, including special schools to provide high quality PE and school sport to all pupils. £57 million up to March 2025 was additionally announced to deliver phase three of the Opening School Facilities Programme which will support schools in low socio-economic areas to open their sports facilities in the evenings, during weekends and in the holidays.

The Department funds two other programmes to support pupils access to PE and school sport. The Girls Your Time initiative, worth up to £980,000 up to March 2024, is increasing opportunities for girls aged 8 to 16 to access competitive sport and sport leadership opportunities. The Inclusion 2024 grant, which is worth up to £900,000 up to March 2024, is providing practical support to schools to increase opportunities for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs to engage in sport and physical exercise.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that children from under-served communities are supported to take part in school sport.

Answered by Nick Gibb

Physical education (PE) is a foundation subject at all four Key Stages, and it is a vital part of a broad and balanced curriculum for all pupils to access. Schools are expected to develop a sporting curriculum that meets the needs of all pupils, during PE lessons and in extracurricular sporting activity.

On 8 March 2023, the Government committed over £600 million in funding over the next two years for primary schools, including special schools to provide high quality PE and school sport to all pupils. £57 million up to March 2025 was additionally announced to deliver phase three of the Opening School Facilities Programme which will support schools in low socio-economic areas to open their sports facilities in the evenings, during weekends and in the holidays.

The Department funds two other programmes to support pupils access to PE and school sport. The Girls Your Time initiative, worth up to £980,000 up to March 2024, is increasing opportunities for girls aged 8 to 16 to access competitive sport and sport leadership opportunities. The Inclusion 2024 grant, which is worth up to £900,000 up to March 2024, is providing practical support to schools to increase opportunities for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs to engage in sport and physical exercise.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to give girls equal access to sport in schools, particularly football.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

On 8 March 2023 the government announced funding to support PE and Sport during the school day and after school, encouraging all schools to provide sports equally for girls and boys. The department is working with the Department for Culture Media and Sport, the Youth Sport Trust, the Football Association, and other governing bodies to add equality criteria to the School Games Mark which would cover curricular and extracurricular sport provision. The department will identify schools that deliver equal provision of PE and Sport and will disseminate how they are making this practice available, to inform all schools on how they can achieve it.

The department is also funding the Your:Time programme, which trains teenage girls to be able to coach their peers and improve their participation in competitive sport, including football.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to ukactive’s press released entitled Up to £57 million investment received for schools to open their sports facilities to support communities to be more active, published on 8 March, what steps (a) her Department is taking to deliver and (b) schools have to take to apply for that funding.

Answered by Nick Gibb

On 8 March 2023, the Department announced that up to £57 million has been allocated up to March 2025 for Phase 3 of the Opening School Facilities programme to allow selected schools around England to open their sports facilities in the evenings, at weekends and during the holidays.

The Department has awarded a contract to a consortium led by Active Partnerships, who are identifying schools across England where the funding will have a positive effect on getting the least active pupils and wider community users to participate in more sport.

Active Partnerships will support schools to create new partnerships with sport national governing bodies and local sport providers to broaden the extracurricular opportunities being delivered in the selected schools’ sports facilities.

The Department can confirm that in year one, Active Nottinghamshire have already identified 19 schools in Nottinghamshire to benefit from the programme.

Found: principal recommendation – we are sending a clear message that children will never be let down whether in schools

Found: experience opportunities was much more limited. 13 For example, educational consultancies, music schools

Found: The visit follows the government’s major schools’ sports package last week, which includes over £600