With thanks to the hard work of school and college leaders, all schools and colleges with confirmed RAAC are providing full time face-to-face education for all pupils. The department is supporting schools and colleges to keep any disruption to education to an absolute minimum.

Every school or college with confirmed RAAC has been 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. In a matter of months, the department has completed its RAAC identification programme and announced funding to remove RAAC from schools and colleges for good.

Schools and colleges concerned about the potential impact of RAAC-related school closures on pupils due to take GCSE and A level exams in the summer should speak to the relevant awarding organisation. Only the relevant awarding organisation will be able to confirm what can be done in any specific context and the specific options available. Awarding organisations could, for example, offer a longer extension for coursework and non-exam assessment, so that schools and colleges have as much time as possible to complete this important part of pupils' learning and qualifications.

Local authorities are responsible for the provision of school crossing patrols as they are best placed to assess the needs of the local community. The Department for Transport does not collect statistics on school crossing patrols.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Those responsible bodies for school buildings, which includes Local Authorities, academy trusts and diocesan bodies, must ensure that buildings with a total floor area of 250m² have a Display Energy Certificate (DEC).

DECs present the annual energy use and typical energy use of the assessed building. DECs are publicly available at: https://www.gov.uk/find-energy-certificate.

The Department is currently working closely with an academic partner on an energy model for the school estate using a variety of available data to establish future investment approaches to achieving net zero and reducing running costs for schools. In December 2022, the Department published guidance on reducing energy for schools alongside additional funding of £447 million aimed at supporting schools with energy reduction measures.

​In November 2021, the Department launched its first specification to deliver schools that are net zero carbon in operation. All schools that are procured under this specification will not only be net zero in operation but will also incorporate a wider range of measures to tackle climate change. The Department’s full specification can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/school-design-and-construction#output-specification. ​

The Department does not hold the information or collect the data requested with regard to solar panels in Warwickshire, or the average energy consumption of a primary school.

Those responsible bodies for school buildings, which includes Local Authorities, academy trusts and diocesan bodies, must ensure that buildings with a total floor area of 250m² have a Display Energy Certificate (DEC).

DECs present the annual energy use and typical energy use of the assessed building. DECs are publicly available at: https://www.gov.uk/find-energy-certificate.

The Department is currently working closely with an academic partner on an energy model for the school estate using a variety of available data to establish future investment approaches to achieving net zero and reducing running costs for schools. In December 2022, the Department published guidance on reducing energy for schools alongside additional funding of £447 million aimed at supporting schools with energy reduction measures.

​In November 2021, the Department launched its first specification to deliver schools that are net zero carbon in operation. All schools that are procured under this specification will not only be net zero in operation but will also incorporate a wider range of measures to tackle climate change. The Department’s full specification can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/school-design-and-construction#output-specification. ​

The Department does not hold the information or collect the data requested with regard to solar panels in Warwickshire, or the average energy consumption of a primary school.

The Condition Data Collection (CDC) is one of the largest and most comprehensive data collection programmes in the UK’s public sector. It collected data on the building condition of government funded schools in England. It provides a robust evidence base to enable the Department to target capital funding for maintaining and rebuilding school buildings.

The key, high level findings of the CDC programme were published in May 2021 in the ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey: Key Findings’ report. This is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.

Individual CDC reports have been shared with every school and their responsible body to use alongside their existing condition surveys to plan maintenance schedules and investment plans. The Department plans to publish detailed school level CDC data. The Department is still preparing the data and will publish it as soon as possible.

Well maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the Department. Our funding is directed both to maintaining the condition of the school estate and rebuilding schools. The Department has allocated over £13 billion for improving the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion committed this financial year.

The ten year School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) is condition led. 400 of the 500 available places on the programme have been provisionally allocated. A list of these schools and the methodology used to select them is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.

The following table shows the constituencies specified that have schools or colleges selected for the SRP:

The 239 schools announced in December 2022 will enter delivery at a rate of approximately 50 per year, over a five year period from 2023. The Department is currently undertaking due diligence on these schools prior to scheduling them, with schools prioritised according to the condition of their buildings, readiness to proceed, and efficiency of delivery. The scope and funding for each project will be confirmed following detailed feasibility studies and condition surveys of buildings.

Where a school identifies significant safety issues with a building, that cannot be managed within local resources, the Department considers additional support on a case-by-case basis. This includes applications for Urgent Capital Support (UCS) from eligible institutions. Schools eligible for Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) can apply for UCS where there are urgent health and safety issues that threaten school closure and cannot wait until the next CIF bidding round.

The provision of school playing fields for sport, as well as for informal and social use, is widely accepted to contribute to the health and fitness of school pupils. This is why playing fields are protected under Section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. Similarly, under the School Premises Regulations and Independent School Standards, all schools must have suitable outdoor space to enable physical education and for pupils to play outside.

The Department’s guidance documents, Building Bulletins 103 and 104, provide non-statutory guidelines for the minimum recommended size of playing fields for any school. The minimum size of the playing field depends on the size and age range of the school.

Schools rely heavily on IT and online services to function. These services hold large amounts of sensitive personal data on pupils, parents, and staff and further information which needs to be kept safe and secure. Schools are directly responsible for their own levels of security and data protection, and need to ensure they have the appropriate security protections in place in order to safeguard their systems, data, staff, and pupils.

To help with improving cyber security across the sector, in October 2022 the Department released Cyber Security Standards, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/meeting-digital-and-technology-standards-in-schools-and-colleges/cyber-security-standards-for-schools-and-colleges. These standards provide a base level requirement for good cyber security practices in schools, helping to raise resilience across the sector and make schools a harder target for malicious attacks. Many of the areas suggested for improvement are low cost, or free to implement.

Cyber cover is now included in the Department’s Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) scheme and available to all member schools who have met the following four key pre-defined requirements for this cover:

• Have offline backups. National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) help and guidance on backing up is available and ideally follow the 3-2-1 rule explained in the NCSC blog Offline backups in an online world, which can be accessed here: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/blog-post/offline-backups-in-an-online-world.
• Have completed NCSC Training for all employees and governors who have access to the member’s IT system by the 31 May 2022 or the start of the membership year, whichever is later.
• Register with Police CyberAlarm from 1 March 2022.
• Have a cyber response plan in place. A template has been available to download from the RPA members portal since 1 March 2022.

The Department continues to work closely with stakeholders, including the Joint Information Systems Committee and the NCSC to identify incidents and conduct threat trend analysis to monitor and identify emerging cyber threats posed to the sector at the hands of cyber criminals.

The main vulnerabilities that the Department recognises schools may face, are from phishing emails and compromised remote access credentials. Schools can increase their resilience in these areas with cyber security training for school staff from the NCSC which can be found here: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/information/cyber-security-training-schools, and by introducing Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) to devices logging into the network remotely. The NCSC Active Cyber Defence tools are now available to all schools. These assist in protecting schools from a range of attacks. Further help for schools from the NCSC can be found on their website which can be accessed here: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/education-skills/schools.

In the event of a cyber attack, the Department has a sector facing cyber security team who can provide advice and guidance to assist with recovery. To report an incident and receive support schools can contact sector.incidentreporting@education.gov.uk. Schools are also encouraged to report all cyber incidents to Action Fraud via their reporting site here: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/.

The Department funds the provision of new school buildings through the Free Schools Programme, the School Rebuilding Programme, and the Priority School Building Programme.

There are several types of school, primary, secondary, all-through, 16-19, alternative provision and special. They range from small village primaries to large urban secondaries, and operate from a wide variety of sites. As such, forecasted costs and scope for each school building project varies greatly and is only known once a feasibility study has been completed and following the awarding of contracts. The Department publishes details of all contracts awarded over £10,000 to the Contracts Finder, which is available at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

The daily Education Setting survey asks schools and colleges to report data such as on-site attendance and COVID-19 absence.

The most recent published data for staff and pupil absences at national level is 20 January 2022 and can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

The department engages regularly with Ofsted on a range of matters, including inspection arrangements in the changing context of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Ofsted inspection continues to play an important role in providing independent assurance as providers respond to the COVID-19 outbreak. It is right though that these arrangements are kept under review, and adjustments made where appropriate.

At the start of this term Ofsted temporarily halted use of part time inspectors who are also front-line leaders. Since 31 January Ofsted has been inviting those who are able to inspect again to do so. Ofsted’s deferral policy has provided reassurance to schools, colleges and early years providers that have been significantly impacted by staff absence in recent weeks. That policy remains in place and Ofsted will continue to remind providers about it for the remainder of this half term.

We are continuing to improve the testing system, including by ensuring teaching staff can get priority access when they have symptoms. The Government is scaling up testing capacity even further to 500,000 tests a day by the end of October.

In order to protect schools, it is important head teachers continue to have access to timely support and advice. There is a new dedicated advice line to help schools to implement the most appropriate public health measures once a case is confirmed. A team of advisers will inform schools what action is needed in response to a positive case based on the latest public health advice, and work through a risk assessment.

It is vital that children and school staff only get a test if they develop COVID-19 symptoms, with the exception of those who have specifically been asked to do so by a clinician. The NHS Test and Trace system must stay focused on testing those with true symptoms of the virus.

The Government is committed to making Bikeability training available to all schoolchildren by the end of this Parliament, and is providing £2 million of support this financial year for a programme to encourage more children to walk to school. The Government’s statutory guidance to schools on Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) says that pupils should know the importance of building regular exercise into daily and weekly routines and how to achieve this, for example by walking or cycling to school. The Department continues to discuss this and other matters with the Department for Education.

The £500 self-isolation payment administered by local councils was devised to achieve compliance with public health guidance. That is why the Department of Health and Social Care is leading on the matter. I am conscious that there may be local arrangements that need to be addressed. Often, the best way to tackle

those is through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which has local funds that have been topped up by this Government to help with local welfare issues.

The Department has made no such assessment.

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has advised that ventilation is in some circumstances an important factor in mitigating against the risk of transmission of COVID-19. The Department has therefore been working closely with a range of partners, including other government departments, school workforce unions, the Health and Safety Executive and the Chartered Institute of Building Services, as well as SAGE, to develop ventilation guidance for schools during the outbreak.

The guidance is expected to be published in the autumn term and will highlight the importance of balancing well ventilated spaces with comfortable environments. This can be achieved through a variety of measures including natural ventilation.

We continue to do everything in our power to ensure that all children and staff can be back in the classroom safely. Our guidance is clear that if schools implement the actions set out in the system of controls in our guidance, they will effectively reduce risks in their schools and create an inherently safer environment for all to operate in.

Very much so. I draw the hon. Gentleman’s attention to the joint letter by the chief medical officers of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland in which they pointed out that children are best served by being in school, but he is right to highlight the risks and challenges of children returning to school. That is why, at every stage, working right across the sector, we have put in place the strictest level of controls and a system of controls, in order to create a safe environment for not just the children and those who work in schools but the community as a whole.