The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Beckett on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will estimate the number of children from families from Eastern European countries that have entered the care system in the latest period for which figures are available.
Edward Timpson
The Department does not hold the information requested.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has taken steps to disseminate the findings of the study, The impact of classroom design on pupils’ learning, by Professor Barrett of Salford University, published in July 2015, to (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools and (c) sixth form colleges.
Nick Gibb
The Department continuously monitors literature published on the built environment as it relates to schools. Where relevant, the findings from this literature inform the development of the Department’s guidance on design and maintenance[1]. The Department uses this guidance to communicate with contractors, designers, schools and sixth form colleges about the standards in class room design.
Professor Barrett has met with officials from the department to discuss the findings of his research. Professor Barrett’s recommendations regarding daylight, temperature and air-quality in schools reinforce those already made in the Education Funding Agency’s (EFA) Building Bulletins and the requirements in EFA’s Facilities Output Specification, used in procuring many new school buildings.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/school-building-design-and-maintenance
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential benefits of using adjustable furniture in schools to improve the classroom learning environment.
Nick Gibb
The Department has not undertaken its own assessment of the potential benefits of using adjustable furniture in schools.
The Department recognises the advantages and disadvantages of using adjustable height furniture detailed in research carried out by appropriate professionals and through working jointly with organisations such as the Furniture Industry Research Association.
Our jointly produced website on ergonomics highlights the option of using adjustable chairs and tables for effective management of the classroom environment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the findings in the Chief Schools Adjudicator for England’s Annual Report, published in December 2015, that there is a lack of transparency in the school admission system, what steps she plans to take to monitor and enforce compliance with the School Admissions Code.
Nick Gibb
Admission authorities for all state-funded schools are required to comply with the School Admissions Code. This includes a requirement that ‘parents should be able to look at a set of arrangements and understand easily how places for that school will be allocated’. We consider that the code provides clear advice to all admission authorities.
Compliance is enforced by the Schools Adjudicator. Where an objection is made and the adjudicator finds that the arrangements are unclear, unfair, or that they otherwise fail to comply with the code, the admission authority is required by law to change the policy.
The degree to which maintained schools comply with the code is monitored through the Chief Adjudicator’s Annual Report. We consider the findings of the report and whether changes to the system are necessary.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the finding in the Chief Schools Adjudicator for England’s Annual Report, published in December 2015, that parents are often unable to understand the complicated admissions criteria employed by religiously selective schools.
Nick Gibb
Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious character, are required to comply with the School Admissions Code. This includes a requirement that ‘parents should be able to look at a set of arrangements and understand easily how places for that school will be allocated’.
We support the right of schools with a religious designation to prioritise children of their faith. The code requires such schools, as a minimum, to prioritise looked after and previously looked after children of their faith ahead of other children. We have no plans to change this requirement.
The code can only be applied to bodies within the education sector. It cannot place requirements upon religious bodies. It does, however, require that when schools with a religious designation adopt admission criteria which prioritise children based on their faith, the schools must take account of religious activities as laid out by their religious authority.
Compliance with the code is enforced by the Schools Adjudicator. Where an objection is made and the adjudicator finds that the arrangements are unclear, unfair, or that they otherwise fail to comply with the code, the admission authority is required by law to change the policy.
The Government will shortly consult on a package of changes to the code which will both respond to the findings within the Chief Adjudicator’s Annual Reports and concerns raised by parents. That package will include measures to improve fairness and transparency.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the key findings in the Chief Schools Adjudicator for England’s Annual Report, published in December 2015, whether she plans to publish guidance for schools on how best to comply with the school admissions code.
Nick Gibb
Admission authorities for all state-funded schools are required to comply with the School Admissions Code. This includes a requirement that ‘parents should be able to look at a set of arrangements and understand easily how places for that school will be allocated’. We consider that the code provides clear advice to all admission authorities.
Compliance is enforced by the Schools Adjudicator. Where an objection is made and the adjudicator finds that the arrangements are unclear, unfair, or that they otherwise fail to comply with the code, the admission authority is required by law to change the policy.
The degree to which maintained schools comply with the code is monitored through the Chief Adjudicator’s Annual Report. We consider the findings of the report and whether changes to the system are necessary.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of preventing civil society organisations from submitting complaints about school admission arrangements on the transparency and accountability of the admissions system.
Nick Gibb
I refer my honourable friend to the answer to parliamentary question number HL5704.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will hold a consultation on changing the School Admissions Code to require religiously selective schools to prioritise all looked-after children and previously looked-after children in their admission arrangements in addition to such children of the same denomination of such schools.
Nick Gibb
Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious character, are required to comply with the School Admissions Code. This includes a requirement that ‘parents should be able to look at a set of arrangements and understand easily how places for that school will be allocated’.
We support the right of schools with a religious designation to prioritise children of their faith. The code requires such schools, as a minimum, to prioritise looked after and previously looked after children of their faith ahead of other children. We have no plans to change this requirement.
The code can only be applied to bodies within the education sector. It cannot place requirements upon religious bodies. It does, however, require that when schools with a religious designation adopt admission criteria which prioritise children based on their faith, the schools must take account of religious activities as laid out by their religious authority.
Compliance with the code is enforced by the Schools Adjudicator. Where an objection is made and the adjudicator finds that the arrangements are unclear, unfair, or that they otherwise fail to comply with the code, the admission authority is required by law to change the policy.
The Government will shortly consult on a package of changes to the code which will both respond to the findings within the Chief Adjudicator’s Annual Reports and concerns raised by parents. That package will include measures to improve fairness and transparency.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department has spent on horticultural training in each of the last five years.
Nick Boles
It is not possible to give an estimate of how much funding the Department has spent on horticultural training, as the post-16 funding formula does not attribute funding to specific subjects. We fund institutions based on their whole programme content and student profile. Institutions then divide their funding between subjects as they see fit.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many maintained nurseries there are in (a) Burnley, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West.
Mr Sam Gyimah
According to data from EduBase[1], there are eight local authority maintained nurseries in the Burnley constituency, 24 in Lancashire local authority, and 70 in the North West.
Local authority maintained nurseries are nurseries run by local authorities which are stand-alone and not attached to a primary school. There is therefore more nursery provision in these areas than these figures show; for example, nursery classes in schools and private nurseries.
[1] EduBase as at 9th February 2016. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-in-england
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