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  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of consultation processes on the conversion of all schools to academies in the next 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    Pre-opening support grants are available to schools when they convert. These grants contribute towards the costs of establishing the academy, including legal fees, costs associated with transfer of land, transfer of software licences, the consultation process, Human Resource and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations advice and setting up the Academy Trust.

    The precise costs will depend on how schools individually and collectively come forward with academy proposals. There will, however, be a range of help available to support schools to become academies and secure the associated benefits.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the cost of Civil Service support for the Tile Hill Wood and Woodlands Academy consultation to date; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    Part of the Department’s role is to monitor the performance of open academies and intervene where appropriate. As this work forms part of the Department’s regular intervention work it does not have a specific cost associated with it.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has received from schools in Coventry on the Government’s policy that all schools should become academies; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    We have not received any representations from schools in Coventry regarding the Government’s policy that all schools will become academies.

    We want every school to be an academy because it leads to a more dynamic, responsive and higher-performing education system. It allows successful schools to consolidate success and spread that excellence across the country. As part of our plans, we are giving schools six years’ notice to work with their local authority and diocese to plan and make the right decisions for their pupils and communities. We are clear that no school has to rush into an arrangement that is not right for them.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the Government’s plan to make every school an academy on nursery school education.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The government has confirmed that the expectation that all schools will become academies by 2020 does not include the early years.

    We know that close working between primary schools – whether they are academies or maintained schools – and nursery schools is essential to improving pupils’ transition to Reception. We would expect those excellent local relationships that already exist to continue, regardless of whether the school is an academy or not.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) introducing a Standardised Means Test for Residence Order Payments and (b) making the use of such a test a statutory requirement for local authorities.

    Edward Timpson

    Local authorities have the legal responsibility for deciding what financial support should be provided to families supporting children under a Child Arrangements Order (previously known as a residence order). We do not propose to introduce a national standardised means test for Child Arrangements Order allowances.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Key Stage 1 spelling, punctuation and grammar test which was to be sat in May 2016 and which was subsequently cancelled was uploaded to the Standard and Testing Agency’s website; and when it was updated.

    Nick Gibb

    The version of the key stage 1 spelling test administration guidance which contained the live test content was uploaded to GOV.UK on 24 December 2015. The document was removed on 20 April 2016 and a new version was uploaded on 26 April 2016.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department issues on the (a) role of health visitors operating in designated children’s centres and (b) ratio of health visitors to children under five years old.

    Jane Ellison

    Local authorities and commissioners of local health services have statutory duties to consider providing services through children’s centres. The ‘Sure Start children’s centres statutory guidance’*, provides guidance on what local authorities and commissioners of local health services should do when fulfilling their statutory responsibilities and includes guidance on the role of health visitors. In particular it states that, “Local authorities should consider how they can use their network of children’s centres to greatest effect through links with other services, including: through links to midwifery, general practitioners and, health visitors. As a minimum, it is expected that every children’s centre should have access to a named health visitor….” Neither the Department for Education nor the Department of Health has issued guidance relating to the ratio of health visitors to children under five years old.

    * published by Department for Education, April 2013:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sure-start-childrens-centres

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  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of requiring all schools to convert to academies; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    Taking the Spending Review and last month’s Budget together, we have set aside the funding to support a high quality, academised school system. We have over £500m available in this Parliament to build capacity in the system – including recruiting excellent sponsors and encouraging the development of strong multi-academy trusts.

    The precise costs will depend on how schools individually and collectively come forward with academy proposals. There will, however, be a range of help available to support schools to become academies and secure the associated benefits.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of converting schools into academies in (a) Coventry and (b) the West Midlands.

    Edward Timpson

    In light of the new money announced in the Budget to support our plans, we are currently considering how best to consolidate and improve the support available to schools as they convert to become academies. New guidance will be available soon which will ensure that the available funding has maximum impact to build capacity and help schools make the most of the opportunities of becoming an academy.

    There will be a range of help available to support schools to become academies and secure the associated benefits. Pre-opening support grants are available to all schools, which contribute towards the costs of conversion incurred by schools in establishing the academy. In addition, other grants support a range of different models and phases of academy development, including the sponsor capacity fund and grants which are targeted to help groups of primary schools to either come together in new trusts or join existing ones.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of pupils in free schools have (a) statements of special educational needs and (b) Education, Health and Care plans.

    Edward Timpson

    Information on the number and percentage of pupils with statements of special educational needs or Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan by type of institution in the January 2015 School Census is available on GOV.UK:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2015 (Table 1A and 1D.)

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