The government supports the right of parents to educate their children at home. The department knows that many who do so are very committed and educate their children well, sometimes in difficult circumstances.

However, this government is committed to ensuring local authorities ensure all these children are in receipt of suitable education.

As such, the government supports the principle of a system of registration for children not in school and issuing statutory guidance to accompany this. Local authority-maintained registers of children not in school would help local authorities undertake their existing duties to ensure all children receive a suitable education and are safe, regardless of where they are educated.

The department has already published non-statutory guidance for local authorities and parents to help them understand their roles and legal responsibilities around elective home education.

​There are over 22,000 schools and colleges in England and the vast majority are unaffected by RAAC. Around 1% have confirmed RAAC in some areas of their buildings. There are two schools with confirmed RAAC in the constituency of Enfield North: Ark John Keats Academy and St Ignatius College.

The department is supporting its schools and colleges to keep any disruption to education to an absolute minimum. Every school or college with confirmed RAAC is assigned dedicated support from the department’s team of caseworkers. Each case is unique and schools and colleges are being supported to put in place a bespoke plan based on their circumstances. All schools and colleges with confirmed RAAC are providing full time face-to-face education for all pupils.

The government has confirmed to schools and colleges, including those in Enfield North, how it will fund them to remove RAAC permanently, either through grants or through the school rebuilding programme (SRP). The longer-term requirements of each school or college will vary depending on the extent of the issue and nature and design of the buildings. Permanently removing RAAC may involve refurbishment of existing buildings or rebuilding affected buildings.

Schools joining the SRP are prioritised for delivery according to the condition need of their buildings, readiness to proceed, and efficiency of delivery. The department also takes into account the suitability and longevity of the temporary accommodation they are using. The department has committed to responsible bodies that it will confirm when works are expected to start by the end of the summer term.

For schools and colleges receiving grants, the department is working with responsible bodies to support them to agree the scope of works they are procuring. In some cases, this may involve undertaking technical assessments to inform the design of building works and in other cases the removal or RAAC is already underway and will be completed in the coming months.

​There are over 22,000 schools and colleges in England and the vast majority are unaffected by RAAC. Around 1% have confirmed RAAC in some areas of their buildings. There are two schools with confirmed RAAC in the constituency of Enfield North: Ark John Keats Academy and St Ignatius College.

The department is supporting its schools and colleges to keep any disruption to education to an absolute minimum. Every school or college with confirmed RAAC is assigned dedicated support from the department’s team of caseworkers. Each case is unique and schools and colleges are being supported to put in place a bespoke plan based on their circumstances. All schools and colleges with confirmed RAAC are providing full time face-to-face education for all pupils.

The government has confirmed to schools and colleges, including those in Enfield North, how it will fund them to remove RAAC permanently, either through grants or through the school rebuilding programme (SRP). The longer-term requirements of each school or college will vary depending on the extent of the issue and nature and design of the buildings. Permanently removing RAAC may involve refurbishment of existing buildings or rebuilding affected buildings.

Schools joining the SRP are prioritised for delivery according to the condition need of their buildings, readiness to proceed, and efficiency of delivery. The department also takes into account the suitability and longevity of the temporary accommodation they are using. The department has committed to responsible bodies that it will confirm when works are expected to start by the end of the summer term.

For schools and colleges receiving grants, the department is working with responsible bodies to support them to agree the scope of works they are procuring. In some cases, this may involve undertaking technical assessments to inform the design of building works and in other cases the removal or RAAC is already underway and will be completed in the coming months.

​There are over 22,000 schools and colleges in England and the vast majority are unaffected by RAAC. Around 1% have confirmed RAAC in some areas of their buildings. There are two schools with confirmed RAAC in the constituency of Enfield North: Ark John Keats Academy and St Ignatius College.

The department is supporting its schools and colleges to keep any disruption to education to an absolute minimum. Every school or college with confirmed RAAC is assigned dedicated support from the department’s team of caseworkers. Each case is unique and schools and colleges are being supported to put in place a bespoke plan based on their circumstances. All schools and colleges with confirmed RAAC are providing full time face-to-face education for all pupils.

The government has confirmed to schools and colleges, including those in Enfield North, how it will fund them to remove RAAC permanently, either through grants or through the school rebuilding programme (SRP). The longer-term requirements of each school or college will vary depending on the extent of the issue and nature and design of the buildings. Permanently removing RAAC may involve refurbishment of existing buildings or rebuilding affected buildings.

Schools joining the SRP are prioritised for delivery according to the condition need of their buildings, readiness to proceed, and efficiency of delivery. The department also takes into account the suitability and longevity of the temporary accommodation they are using. The department has committed to responsible bodies that it will confirm when works are expected to start by the end of the summer term.

For schools and colleges receiving grants, the department is working with responsible bodies to support them to agree the scope of works they are procuring. In some cases, this may involve undertaking technical assessments to inform the design of building works and in other cases the removal or RAAC is already underway and will be completed in the coming months.

Arts Council England is responsible for collecting and publishing information about each of the Music Hubs. This information is about the music education activity the Hubs provide or support and does not include information on what schools provide without the support of the hub.

The Wellingborough constituency is served by Northamptonshire and Rutland Music Education Hub, including providing opportunities to learn an instrument, including through whole class ensemble teaching.

In 2022/23, 59.4% of schools were supported with whole class ensemble teaching and the Hub delivered or supported lessons to 8,205 pupils in small group tuition, 568 pupils in individual lessons, and 710 pupils as part of large group lessons. In addition, 2,367 pupils participated in Hub-led or Hub-supported ensembles and group activity, and instruments were loaned to 219 schools during 2022/23.

The 2022/23 data was published on Monday 20 May and can be accessed on their website. The link to the website is: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/MusicEducationHubs/music-education-hubs-survey-and-data#t-in-page-nav-2.

The department values the wealth of support parents and carers can provide schools and it strongly supports schools in their engagement with them. Many parents and carers regularly engage with schools as school governors, through parents’ associations and through everyday contact. The department does not routinely monitor levels of parental engagement in schools, but it encourages all schools to have a strategy in place which allows the views of parents and carers to be considered.

As part of government business, the department engages parents and carers to deliver effective policymaking, such as through consultations. The department also engages with a range of stakeholder organisations, some of whom represent parents and carers. For example, the parents, pupils and learners panel regularly surveys parents of primary and secondary school pupils and college learners (in classroom-based education). The panel provides robust, rapid-turnaround evidence to support the department in assessing the ongoing views and experiences of parents and pupils.

Policy teams also engage with parents and carers to gather views and feedback on specific areas. For example, the special educational needs and disabilities teams work with the National Network of Parent Carer Forums, the independent national voice for parent carer forums.

In addition, the department regularly uses its Education Hub website to communicate key updates to parents and carers. This includes popular topics, questions and answers and case studies.

The department has a comprehensive strategy to support schools, trusts, and local authorities to tackle school absence, and is supporting schools to engage effectively with parents.

The department’s ‘working together to improve school attendance’ guidance for schools, trusts, and local authorities, which will become statutory in autumn 2024, is clear that engaging with parents and families is central to taking a ‘support first’ approach. The guidance outlines how schools should build strong relationships and work jointly with families, listening to and understanding barriers to attendance and working in partnership with families to remove them. The guidance can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance.

To support schools and local authorities to engage parents, the department has:

• Published a toolkit with practical examples to help schools communicate with parents and carers about school attendance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance/toolkit-for-schools-communicating-with-families-to-support-attendance.
• Delivered a series of webinars and training sessions for schools over the summer term to support embedding the new attendance guidance.

• Shared, in collaboration with the Anna Freud Centre, resources for school staff, parents and carers, and children and young people that support attendance and mental health wellbeing: https://www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/attendance-and-mental-wellbeing-school-college/.

Additionally, as part of the department’s national communication campaign to parents on the importance of school attendance, it has provided schools and local authorities with resources to amplify the campaign and support their communication with parents, which can be found here: https://dfegovukassets.blob.core.windows.net/assets/Attendance%20campaign/Attendance%20campaign%20commuications%20toolkit%20for%20schools.pdf, and here: https://dfegovukassets.blob.core.windows.net/assets/Attendance%20campaign/Attendance%20communications%20toolkit%20for%20local%20authority%20attendance%20teams%20and%20other%20stakeholders.pdf.

Schools are best placed to decide on the development need of their staff and the leadership structure that best suits their pupils. That is why the department has given all trusts and schools the authority to make their own recruitment decisions, including for headteachers and senior leaders, using their own policies and procedures in line with Employment Law, Equality Action 2010 and Safer Recruitment Guidance to recruit appropriate individuals. More information can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/616e92fd8fa8f529777ffc40/Staff_Advice_Handbook_Update_-_October_2021.pdf

Experience at various levels of teaching is an important factor for successful leadership of schools and, as such, almost all senior leaders and headteachers have been awarded qualified teacher status (QTS) and have experience as a class teacher before progressing to senior roles within schools.

For existing teachers and senior leaders, including veterans that have changed career and are working in schools, there is a range of specialist and leadership National Profession Qualifications available to provide training and support at all levels. These provide support to a range of professionals from those who want to develop expertise in high quality teaching practice to those who aspire to be members of school leadership teams and those leading multiple schools across trusts. Interested applicants can learn more about the qualifications and eligibility for scholarship funding by visiting the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-professional-qualification-npq-courses.

There are currently no plans to update the department’s non-statutory guidance on religious education (RE). The government believe that RE is an important subject, developing an individual’s knowledge and understanding of the religions and beliefs which form part of contemporary society, as well as serving to inform their own values and behaviour.

To ensure that pupils have equal access to RE, it is a compulsory subject that must be taught in all mainstream state-funded schools, including academies, to all pupils up to the age of 18. In support of that aim, the Oak National Academy has commissioned the development of RE teaching resources to ensure that high-quality lessons are available nationwide, benefitting both teachers and pupils, should schools opt to use them. Oak RE resources will be available for teaching from autumn 2024, with full packages expected to be available by autumn 2025. Additionally, the Religious Education Council has recently launched its ‘Religion and Worldviews Approach to RE’ Toolkit which consists of a handbook, exemplar frameworks and accompanying resources to assist curriculum developers in designing their own RE curricula.

The £40,000 tax free undergraduate veteran teaching bursary is available to veterans who have left full time employment from the British Army, Royal Air Force, or Royal Navy and enrol on an eligible undergraduate initial teacher training (ITT) course. The bursary is paid over the final two years of the course with £20,000 payable in each year. Veterans who have a degree can undertake postgraduate ITT courses where they can access the bursaries and scholarships of up to £30,000 available on these routes into teaching.

The department remains committed to promoting opportunities for service leavers and veterans, including supporting their journey into teaching in primary, secondary and further education through its broad support services and bursaries. Since the publication of its commitments in the ‘Veterans Strategy Action Plan 2022 to 2024’, the department has ensured that there is tailored support available for the veteran community including dedicated teacher training advisers, webpages, case study blogs on the Get Into Teaching website and information in Civvy Street publications. More information on this support can be found at the following links:

• https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-and-support/if-youre-a-veteran.
• https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/blog/from-the-army-to-teacher-training.
• https://civvystreetmagazine.co.uk/2023/05/bring-your-unique-perspective-to-the-classroom-get-into-teaching-2/.

The department also collaborates with the Career Transition Partnership and British Forces Resettlement Service to provide bespoke webinars, and presence at regional employer fairs. More information about these can be found at the following links:

• https://www.ctp.org.uk/job-finding/directory/get-into-teaching.
• https://www.bfrss.org.uk/profiles/companies/986419/.

The department regularly engages with international governments to share best practice on how to attract and retain talented teachers from all backgrounds and on how to support all teachers in their career journeys. The department’s digital services that manage the ITT application process have been designed to be as user friendly as possible and have been extensively tested with a diverse range of potential applicants to ensure they help remove barriers to great teachers applying for ITT courses.

The National Curriculum is a framework setting out the content that the department expects schools to cover in each subject. The curriculum does not set out how curriculum subjects, or topics within the subjects, should be taught. The department believes schools should be able to use their own knowledge and expertise to determine how they teach their pupils, and to make choices about what they teach. Therefore, whilst the department does not direct schools to teach about the role of the armed forces and veterans in society, schools are already free to do so in the context of citizenship within the National Curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4, which includes important content about the British constitution, the precious liberties enjoyed by the citizens of the United Kingdom and the roles played by public institutions and citizens.

Schools are also able to teach about these topics within other subjects. For example, the flexibility within the history curriculum means that there is the opportunity for teachers to teach about the lived experience of veterans across the spectrum of themes and eras set out in the curriculum. The role of the armed forces could also be explored through English literature where the context is right.

The government has committed to making no changes to the curriculum for the remainder of this parliament.

The department does not forecast how many veterans will take up the undergraduate veteran teaching bursary. The bursary is paid to eligible veterans if they enrol on an eligible undergraduate initial teacher training course.

The department does not systematically collect information on what is taught by schools. The department has made it clear in the draft Relationships, Sex and Heath Education (RSHE) guidance that schools have to ensure that parents are aware of what their children are being taught, which provides the basis for most issues to be resolved locally.

The department’s draft guidance is very clear that schools should teach the facts about equality and the protected characteristics, including gender reassignment, but they should not include contested theory on gender identity in their teaching.

This cautious approach is in line with the draft guidance for schools and colleges on gender questioning pupils, which the department consulted on recently, and the recommendations from the Cass Review.

The department does not systematically collect information on what is taught by schools. The department has made it clear in the draft Relationships, Sex and Heath Education (RSHE) guidance that schools have to ensure that parents are aware of what their children are being taught, which provides the basis for most issues to be resolved locally.

The department’s draft guidance is very clear that schools should teach the facts about equality and the protected characteristics, including gender reassignment, but they should not include contested theory on gender identity in their teaching.

This cautious approach is in line with the draft guidance for schools and colleges on gender questioning pupils, which the department consulted on recently, and the recommendations from the Cass Review.

This government is committed to providing a world class education system for all children and has invested significantly in education to achieve that.

Including the additional funding for teachers’ pay and pensions, funding for both mainstream schools and high needs nationally is £2.9 billion higher in 2024/25, compared to 2023/24. The overall core school budget will total £60.7 billion in 2024/25, the highest ever level in real terms per pupil. This means school funding is set to have risen by £11 billion by 2024/25, compared to 2021/22.

The department cannot provide funding comparisons for the Newcastle upon Tyne Central constituency, Newcastle upon Tyne, or the North East back to 2010, as comparable data is not available. However, at national level, school funding will be 5.5% higher in real terms per pupil in 2024/25 compared to 2010/11 when using the GDP deflator measure of inflation which is based on independent Office for National Statistics and Office for Budget Responsibility data, the routine measure of public spending. The additional 2024/25 pensions funding is provided on top of that.

Mainstream schools in Newcastle upon Tyne Central Constituency are attracting an extra £3.8 million in 2024/25 compared to 2023/24 through the schools national funding formula (NFF), an increase of 2.2% per pupil in their pupil-led funding. As a result, schools in the Newcastle upon Tyne Central Constituency will attract over £89.9 million, based on the schools NFF. Constituency figures are based on an aggregation of school-level allocations through the NFF.

Through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), Newcastle upon Tyne local authority is receiving an extra £7.1 million for mainstream schools in 2024/25 compared to 2023/24, taking total school funding to over £228.7 million. This represents an increase of 2.1% per pupil compared to 2023/24 and an increase of 15.1% per pupil compared to 2021/22 (excluding growth funding).

Through the DSG, the North East is receiving an extra £45.7 million for mainstream schools in 2024/25 compared to 2023/24, taking total school funding to over £2.0 billion. This represents an increase of 2.1% per pupil compared to 2023/24 and an increase of 14.8% per pupil compared to 2021/22 (excluding growth funding).

All schools will receive additional funding through the Teachers’ Pay Additional Grant and Teachers' Pension Employer Contribution Grant 2024 in the 2024/25 financial year.

The precise funding that individual schools in Newcastle upon Tyne Central constituency, Newcastle upon Tyne and the North East will receive year-on-year will depend on each school’s unique circumstances, and the decisions that local authorities have made about how to deploy funding. The national funding formula is designed to fund each school according to its relative needs and is updated annually to reflect how those needs change over time.

​​The department does not have any contracts with providers to provide education on alcohol in schools, colleges or universities, nor does the department hold information on providers of alcohol education in schools and higher education (HE) institutions.

The department does not direct schools on which resources, external speakers or organisations to use, and does not endorse or promote resources to schools other than those produced by other government departments.

It is for further education colleges to determine what material they use to support the health and wellbeing of students.

HE providers in England are autonomous and independent and they make decisions on the courses that they will run. In making these decisions, providers will adapt their offers to the interest of students and demand from employers. The department cannot therefore comment on their choices.

​​The department does not have any contracts with providers to provide education on alcohol in schools, colleges or universities, nor does the department hold information on providers of alcohol education in schools and higher education (HE) institutions.

The department does not direct schools on which resources, external speakers or organisations to use, and does not endorse or promote resources to schools other than those produced by other government departments.

It is for further education colleges to determine what material they use to support the health and wellbeing of students.

HE providers in England are autonomous and independent and they make decisions on the courses that they will run. In making these decisions, providers will adapt their offers to the interest of students and demand from employers. The department cannot therefore comment on their choices.

Educational settings in England are responsible for maintaining their IT systems and Cyber Security. The department has a small, dedicated sector cyber security team to support this activity. This team provides appropriate guidance and advice, via regular targeted and broad communications, to help schools adhere to and maintain good cyber security standards. The department provides guidance for schools and colleges on how to help protect against a cyber incident. This guidance can be found on GOV.UK.

The department also works closely with the National Cyber Crime Security Centre (NCSC) and Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) to ensure that up-to-date cyber security guidance is shared with schools, colleges and universities.

The department’s Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) has more than 9,900 member schools, which represents 52% of eligible schools in England, and includes cover for cyber incidents as standard from the 2022/23 membership years. In the event of a cyber incident, RPA members have access to a 24/7 Incident Response Service.

The department’s dedicated sector cyber security function provides advice in response to cyber security enquiries and incident reports from the sector, liaising with the affected institution following an incident to advise on steps to mitigate the threat and provide guidance on recovery.