The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what Government departments and agencies are represented on the board of directors of the Centre for Cyber Assessment.
Matthew Hancock
The CCA was avowed in June 2015. We do not comment on security matters.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of how many eligible pupils did not claim free school meals in each of the last three years.
Mr Sam Gyimah
The Department only collects data on those eligible pupils who claim free school meals. To collect the data on pupils who did not claim free school meals could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to include LGBT issues in sex and relationship education in schools.
Edward Timpson
All schools should offer high quality, age-appropriate sex and relationship education (SRE), and build a curriculum that meets the needs of all their students. We expect schools to ensure that young people feel that SRE education is relevant to them.
SRE is compulsory in all maintained secondary schools and many primary schools also teach SRE, in an age-appropriate manner. We expect academies and free schools to deliver relationship education as part of their provision of a broad and balanced curriculum. Any school teaching SRE must have regard to the Secretary of State’s SRE guidance.
We welcome the supplementary SRE guidance, SRE for the 21st Century, produced by Brook, the PSHE Association and the Sex Education Forum, which includes guidance on ensuring that SRE is inclusive. All children and young people, regardless of background or identity, are entitled to quality SRE that helps them build confidence and stay healthy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many civil society groups have raised with her Department concerns over breaches of the school admissions code since 2010.
Nick Gibb
It is the role of the Schools Adjudicator to consider concerns about school admission arrangements. Where a person or body has concerns that a school’s admission arrangements do not comply with the School Admissions Code, they may refer an objection to the Adjudicator. The Adjudicator must consider whether the arrangements comply with the Code and the law relating to admissions. It has only been possible for groups such as civil society organisations to refer objections since 2012.
The Schools Adjudicator reports annually to the Secretary of State and this report is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/osa-annual-report
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Sure Start centres are due to be closed over the current Parliament.
Mr Sam Gyimah
The Department does not routinely collect data on the number of anticipated children’s centre closures but expects local authorities to fulfil their duties under the Childcare Act 2006 to ensure sufficient children’s centres to meet the needs of local families. Local authorities must consult fully before any significant changes are made to children’s centre services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 24211, whether it is her policy that former school sites should be retained for potential new school provision in areas of expected new housing growth.
Edward Timpson
The Secretary of State is keen to ensure that education land is used to support the stated priority for the Department in ensuring that there are sufficient good quality school places in the system. In granting consent for any disposal of publicly-funded land, the Secretary of State takes into account whether there is a basic need for additional school places in the area, and whether the land could be used to support an academy or free school. The requirement for the Secretary of State’s consent to dispose of publicly funded land extends to former school sites that have been used as a school within the last 8 years. For former playing field sites, it extends to 10 years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 24211, whether public health and health inequalities are taken into account in the consideration she gives to an application of dispose of former school playing fields.
Edward Timpson
The Education Funding Agency and the Independent School Playing Fields Panel who advise on playing field disposals will look at a range of factors before advising the Secretary of State on disposals, including any reduction in access to playing fields for the school, other local schools and the local community.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 24211, which school sites have been approved or are being considered for disposal in the (a) Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, (b) Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council and (c) Greater Manchester Combined Authority areas.
Edward Timpson
The Secretary of State is currently considering two applications to dispose of school land in the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
Since February 2013, the Secretary of State has approved the following applications to dispose of school land from:
Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council:
Greater Manchester Combined Authority:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 24211, what account she takes of the recreational benefit of maintaining school playing fields when considering a school disposal request.
Edward Timpson
The Education Funding Agency and the Independent School Playing Fields Panel who advise on playing field disposals will look at a range of factors before advising the Secretary of State on disposals, including any reduction in access to playing fields for the school, other local schools and the local community.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2016 to Question 23325, if she will publish the review of Education, Health and Care plans carried out in 2014.
Edward Timpson
Since September 2014, Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans have been regularly monitored and reviewed. This is part of the Department’s ongoing work to support and challenge local authorities’ implementation of the reforms to the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) system. The Department also gathers information about EHC plans from parents and young people, through termly surveys of Parent Carer Forums, correspondence, and regular dialogue with parents’ and young people’s groups.
Where individual EHC plans are considered not to be fully compliant, advice on how to improve them has been provided directly to the local authorities concerned by the Department’s team of SEND advisors. Thus far, our SEND advisors have noted issues around non-compliance for 29 local authorities, all of which were subsequently given advice about improving their EHC plans in order to fulfil statutory requirements
Our advisors are currently delivering a number of workshops for local authorities on how to write high quality, legally compliant EHC plans, and to share good practice. The training resources from these workshops will be published shortly.
There are a number of places where local authorities can find guidance about EHC plans. This includes the statutory SEND Code of Practice, which clearly sets out what must be included in a plan, and provides detailed guidance on the process that must be followed to produce one. There are also examples of good quality EHC plans produced by the SEND Pathfinder local authorities.
The review of EHC plans carried out in 2014 looked specifically at EHC plan templates.