Committee publication · Correspondence · 20 May 2026
Correspondence from the Department for Education relating to rural proofing policies, dated 3 March 2026
Summary
The Department for Education responds to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee's December 2025 inquiry on rural proofing policies. The Department outlines how it ensures rural considerations are built into education policy through staff training, the national funding formula's sparsity provisions, home-to-school travel arrangements, presumptions against rural school closures, and a task group on higher education access equity.
Key findings
- DfE delegates rural proofing responsibility to individual departments following DEFRA guidance; all staff can access 'Better policy making – understanding rural areas' training via Civil Service Learning platform.
- Schools national funding formula allocates sparsity funding to remote schools: up to £58,600 for eligible primary schools and £85,200 for other schools in 2026-27, recognising remote schools cannot make efficiency savings like larger schools.
- Home-to-school travel policy directs funding towards rural areas via new relative needs formula based on pupil numbers and distances travelled; local authorities must ensure free travel for children aged 5-16 living beyond statutory walking distances (2 miles under 8, 3 miles over 8).
- Legal presumption against closure of all rural maintained schools; both Department and local authority must agree academy closures; closure decisions follow statutory consultation including Rural Designation Order requirements for primary schools.
- Department has established Task and Finish group on Access and Participation in Higher Education, chaired by Professor Kathryn Mitchell, to address regional disparities and report January 2027.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Bridget Phillipson MP, Alistair Carmichael MP, Department for Education, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Professor Kathryn Mitchell, Office for Students, UCAS
Notable line
“The NFF accounts for the particular challenges faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factor.”
Key Quotes
“My Department is committed to ensuring every child is set up for the best start in life, and every young person can follow the right pathway for them, no matter where in the country they live.”
“The Government recognises the essential role that small schools play in their communities, many of which are in rural areas.”
“The presumption against closure does not mean that rural schools will never close, but it does ensure that the case for closure is strong and that proposals are clearly in the best interests of educational provision in the area.”
“The formula results in directing funding towards rural areas where we know HTST need is generally higher overall due to the distances that pupils are required to travel.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗