Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has considered making relationships, sex and health education mandatory in (a) sixth form colleges and (b) other further education institutions.
Answered by Janet Daby
Relationships and sex education (RSE) is at the core of the personal development tutorial system in post-16 settings that enables students to discuss important issues relating to their lives as active adult citizens.
As well as learning about British values, resilience, financial literacy and how to navigate the world of work, students participate in debates about respect, consent, coercive control, misogyny, domestic abuse and stereotyping, considering the impact of negative behaviours.
Ofsted’s inspection regime includes personal development. Its judgement evaluates a college’s intent to provide for the personal development of learners and the quality of the way it does this, and education in healthy relationships is one of the areas of focus.
The department has engaged an expert college leader and former Chair of the National Association of Managers of Student Services to develop a RSE toolkit to help colleges deliver high-quality, consistent lessons. This will provide delivery advice and tutorial materials, giving both sixth form college staff and general further education college staff the confidence and skills to deliver on personal development effectively, and to tackle misogyny head on. The toolkit is due to be launched in November.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether a sixth form college that has moved to academy status will be covered by the provisions in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Children’s Wellbeing and School Bill will provide a core guarantee of quality education in every school. It will create a floor but no ceiling, enabling healthy competition and innovation beyond a core framework to bring all schools to the level of the very best.
16 to 19 academies are principally concerned with the education of young people above compulsory school age and below the age of 19. They are defined separately to academy schools under the Academies Act 2010 and operate within a policy, financial and operational framework that reflects the type of education that they provide. In keeping with the existing regulatory approach, 16 to 19 academies, including those that were previously sixth-Form colleges, remain out of scope of most of the measures in the Bill that will apply to schools, including academy schools. Under clause 36 of the Bill, 16 to 19 academies remain outside of the scope of Chapter 1 of Part 4 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, which is the main regulatory framework for independent schools, including academy schools.
Clause 49, which introduces a power to secure the performance of an academy proprietor’s duties, will apply to 16 to 19 academies, as well as academy schools. Robust accountability mechanisms play a critical role in the school system by setting clear requirements and expectations, encouraging behaviours that put children first, help them to achieve and thrive, and keep them safe.
This measure will allow my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education to direct any academy trust to comply with their legal duties and address unreasonable actions in a way that is more proportionate than the current intervention regime provided through academy funding agreements.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) schools and (b) trusts to (i) establish and (ii) expand sixth forms offering academic qualifications in (A) areas with unmet demand and (B) other areas.
Answered by Janet Daby
New or expanded school sixth form provision needs to improve choice and attainment for all pupils. Academies wishing to add sixth form places can do so by applying to the department to make a significant change, demonstrating a clear need for additional places in the area. Maintained schools must follow the statutory process for making prescribed alterations.
In the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, published on 23 June 2025, the government announced a further £375 million of capital investment between 2026/27 and 2029/30 to support post-16 capacity to accommodate additional learners entering the system. Further details on this funding will be announced in due course.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the extent of potential regional disparities in academic post-16 provision.
Answered by Janet Daby
The department publishes annually the attainment of students at the end of their 16 to 18 study in England, including for A levels and other academic level 3 qualifications. Key headline statistics are broken down by geographical areas based on school and college location.
The government is committed to ensuring that the further education (FE) sector and schools are supported to achieve continuous improvement and improved outcomes for learners. The department operates a structured model of oversight and support for FE colleges, sixth form colleges and Designated Institutions, including a range of help and support available from the Further Education Commissioner.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure pupils do not have to travel out of their area to access suitable sixth-form options.
Answered by Janet Daby
Proposed changes to mainstream sixth form provision need to improve choice and attainment for all pupils. Academies wishing to make changes to their sixth forms can do so by applying to the department to make a significant change. The distance that pupils must travel to attend sixth form as a result of any change is considered as part of that decision making process. Maintained schools must follow the statutory process for making prescribed alterations.
In the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, published on 23 June, the government announced a further £375 million of capital investment in 2026/27 and 2029/30 to support post-16 capacity to accommodate additional learners entering the system. Further details on this funding will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the structural issues in The Corbet School in Shropshire.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The government has increased capital funding to £2.1 billion for school maintenance in the 2025/26 financial year, almost £300 million more than in 2024/25. As part of this, the department announced on 30 May that the £470 million Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) will support 789 essential projects at 656 eligible schools and sixth form colleges.
The appeals round for unsuccessful applicants to CIF 2025/26 opened on 2 June and closed at 12 noon on 23 June. We aim to announce the results of appeals in August, and do not comment on individual cases beforehand in order to be fair to all applicants.
Schools and sixth-form colleges eligible for CIF, including The Corbet School, may apply for Urgent Capital Support (UCS) at any time, where they have evidence of serious and urgent issues that threaten the operation of the school and which cannot be managed independently or wait for a future funding round. Further details on UCS can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-improvement-fund#urgent-capital-support.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will approve The Corbet School’s appeal against the rejection of its 2025-26 Condition Improvement Fund bids.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The government has increased capital funding to £2.1 billion for school maintenance in the 2025/26 financial year, almost £300 million more than in 2024/25. As part of this, the department announced on 30 May that the £470 million Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) will support 789 essential projects at 656 eligible schools and sixth form colleges.
The appeals round for unsuccessful applicants to CIF 2025/26 opened on 2 June and closed at 12 noon on 23 June. We aim to announce the results of appeals in August, and do not comment on individual cases beforehand in order to be fair to all applicants.
Schools and sixth-form colleges eligible for CIF, including The Corbet School, may apply for Urgent Capital Support (UCS) at any time, where they have evidence of serious and urgent issues that threaten the operation of the school and which cannot be managed independently or wait for a future funding round. Further details on UCS can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-improvement-fund#urgent-capital-support.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of (a) school and (b) college funding per pupil in Wiltshire in 2024–25.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Through the dedicated schools grant (DSG), Wiltshire received £364.5 million for mainstream schools in the 2024/25 financial year. This represented an increase of 2.3% per pupil compared to 2023/24, excluding growth funding. On top of that, they received £20.9 million in additional grant funding to support teacher and support staff pay rises as well as increases in teachers’ pension employer contribution rates.
Funding for 16 to 19-year-olds uses the same funding formula regardless of whether the student is studying at a school sixth form, general further education college, or other provider type for their study programme or T Level.
The department publishes details of 16 to 19 Total Programme Funding allocations by academic year, with academic year 2024 to 2025 available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-allocation-data-2024-to-2025. This can be filtered by local authority to identify the funding for Wiltshire.
Allocations for the Adult Skills Fund, formerly the Adult Education Budget, are also published annually and are available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/adult-education-and-skills-funding-allocations#published-allocations. Whilst they cannot be filtered by local authority, they can be filtered by individual provider.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many state sixth form places are available within (a) five, (b) 10 and (c) 15 miles of Escrick.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
School level data on state-funded schools with capacity in any of the year groups from reception to year 11 is published in the annual ‘School capacity’ statistical publication. The most recent publication is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-capacity/2023-24. This publication contains the latest available data as at 1 May 2024.
School level data on secondary school capacity and unfilled places can be found in the ‘capacity_school_200910-202324.csv’ data file. Data on secondary school capacity and unfilled places is inclusive of sixth form places. School level data on sixth form places and sixth form pupils is published in the ‘sixth-form-capacity_school_201718-202324.csv’.
The ‘School capacity’ data can be combined with information from ‘Get Information about Schools’, which has the functionality to download data on the schools and colleges within the stated distances from Escrick.
The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places sits with local authorities.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many state secondary school places are available within (a) five, (b) 10 and (c) 15 miles of Escrick.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
School level data on state-funded schools with capacity in any of the year groups from reception to year 11 is published in the annual ‘School capacity’ statistical publication. The most recent publication is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-capacity/2023-24. This publication contains the latest available data as at 1 May 2024.
School level data on secondary school capacity and unfilled places can be found in the ‘capacity_school_200910-202324.csv’ data file. Data on secondary school capacity and unfilled places is inclusive of sixth form places. School level data on sixth form places and sixth form pupils is published in the ‘sixth-form-capacity_school_201718-202324.csv’.
The ‘School capacity’ data can be combined with information from ‘Get Information about Schools’, which has the functionality to download data on the schools and colleges within the stated distances from Escrick.
The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places sits with local authorities.