Congratulations Amber! https://t.co/aeOgXV2hd7
Congratulations Bavaani! https://t.co/5Nx6OmdOWH
Congratulations Bavaani! https://t.co/Ok2CvALsl7
Congratulations Rob! https://t.co/sZeyj0cOhv
Questioner: Stuart Anderson
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that people have access to flexible adult learning courses during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answer (Gillian Keegan)
The Department wants to ensure that a wide range of opportunities are available to adults to meet their future skills needs.
We are continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), worth £1.34 billion in the 2020-21 financial year. The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to support adults to gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship, or further learning. Our funding rules allow for flexibility in course delivery, and providers already offer shorter/more flexible courses. More information about the AEB is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adult-education-budget-aeb-funding-rules-2019-to-2020.
As part of the Lifetime Skills Guarantee recently announced by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, the department is launching skills bootcamps, which will be available in 6 areas across the country. The bootcamp training courses will provide valuable skills based on employer demand and are linked to real job opportunities, helping participants to get jobs, and employers to fill much-needed vacancies. The department is planning to expand the bootcamps to more of the country from spring 2021, and we want to extend this model to include other technical skills training. More information about the launch of skills bootcamps is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/major-expansion-of-post-18-education-and-training-to-level-up-and-prepare-workers-for-post-covid-economy.
In April 2020, the department introduced the Skills Toolkit, an online platform providing free courses to help individuals build the skills that are most sought after by employers. We have recently expanded the platform so that people can now choose from over 70 courses, covering digital, adult numeracy, employability, and work readiness skills, which have been identified as the skills employers need the most. These courses will help people stay in work, or take up new jobs and opportunities. More information about the Skills Toolkit is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-free-online-learning-platform-to-boost-workplace-skills.
Through our lifelong loan entitlement, the department will also make it easier for adults and young people to study more flexibly. This will allow people to space out their studies across their lifetimes, transfer credits between colleges and universities, and enable more part-time study.
Congratulations to Reon, who works at Wembley Primary School for being named as London’s 2020 #ActiveSchoolHero He has been working tirelessly over lockdown to help young children stay fit and active @UKActive Find out more: https://t.co/oeM3SjBLdG https://t.co/QfQIeN4G9H
Questioner: Conor McGinn
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the Social Mobility Commission's strategy is for improving social mobility for white working class boys.
Answer (Vicky Ford)
The Social Mobility Commission is an Arm’s Length Body, whose statutory responsibility is to monitor social mobility in the United Kingdom and promote social mobility in England. They carry out this responsibility by appraising action on social mobility via their annual monitoring report laid in Parliament, making recommendations to the government and conducting other evidence-based research reports they publish throughout the year. The Social Mobility Commission also carry out important work with frontline delivery partners to help drive change, and put evidence on best practice into action alongside employers, local regional leaders, social mobility charities, and reaching out to young people through digital channels.
The Social Mobility Commission’s work has a key focus on understanding the drivers of poor outcomes for individuals from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, as part of an overarching strategy to understand the drivers of poor social mobility through high-quality research.
The Social Mobility Commission also recently contributed to the Education Select Committee inquiry on ‘Left Behind White Pupils from Disadvantaged Backgrounds’. Their written evidence can be found here: https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/12557/default.
Congratulations to @Alex_Bramley3 from @Spirejunior winner of @TeachingAwards Gold Award Primary School Teacher of the Year 2020! @BBCTheOneShow @Mattallwright #ClassroomHeroes https://t.co/ysK057SFE0
Questioner: Tulip Siddiq
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of children using (a) the 15 hour free early years entitlement for (i) the most disadvantaged two year olds and (ii) parents of three and four year olds and (b) the 30 hour early years entitlement for working parents of three and four year olds in each of the four most recent weeks for which data is available.
Answer (Vicky Ford)
The government is planning to spend more than £3.6 billion on early education entitlements in 2020-21. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, take up of the entitlements was positive with near universal take up of the 15 hours for all 3 and 4 year olds (91% of 3 year olds and 94% of 4 year olds (including reception)) in January 2020.
The department collects data about take up of the entitlements on an annual basis through the Early Years Census. These annual reports are published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-provision-children-under-5. The next census is due to take place in January 2021.
At the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, the department introduced weekly data collection from local authorities to record the number of pre-school aged children attending childcare. This data is published on a weekly basis and the reports are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak. In order to minimise the administrative burden on local government during the COVID-19 outbreak, this weekly data collection does not distinguish attendance by age of child or between children taking up entitlements and children whose parents have paid for a childcare place.
It was estimated that 801,000 children were attending early years childcare settings on 12 November 2020, around 61% of the number of children who usually attend childcare in term time. On a typical day in the autumn term attendance is expected to be around 887,000, due to different and part-time patterns of childcare during the week. It is therefore estimated that the 801,000 children currently attending early years settings is approximately 90% of the usual daily level.
Nov. 25 2020
Main Page: Curriculum sequencing for primary and secondaryRead our blog on why closing schools early for Christmas would be unfair to young people https://t.co/cAZs1tqtGG
Questioner: Catherine West
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing private music lessons to take place in teachers' homes during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answer (Nick Gibb)
As outlined in the guidance for education and childcare settings on new national restrictions from 5 November, out-of-school activities such as private tuition may continue to operate during the period of national restrictions. However, providers of these activities who are operating out of their own homes or private studios, should ensure they are only being accessed for face-to-face provision by parents if their primary purpose is registered childcare, or where they are providing other activities for children, where it is reasonably necessary to enable parents to work or search for work, or to undertake training or education; or for the purposes of respite care. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-and-childcare-settings-new-national-restrictions-from-5-november-2020#ooss.
Out-of-school activities that are primarily used by home educating parents as part of their arrangements for their child to receive a suitable full-time education, which could include private tutors, may also continue to operate for face-to-face provision for the duration of the national restrictions.
Tutors that continue to operate face-to-face provision during this period should continue to undertake risk assessments and implement the system of controls set out in the protective measures for holiday clubs and after-school clubs and other out-of-school clubs for children during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak guidance, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/protective-measures-for-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.
Providers operating out of other people’s homes should also implement the guidance on working safely in other people’s homes, available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/homes.
All other out of school activities, not being primarily used by parents for these purposes and that can offer remote education, should close for face-to-face provision for the duration of the national restrictions. This will minimise the amount of mixing between different groups of people and therefore reduce the risk of infection and transmission of the virus.
Questioner: Margaret Greenwood
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to ensure that teachers are among those prioritised for a covid-19 vaccine when one becomes available.
Answer (Nick Gibb)
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine(s) the UK should use and provide advice on who should be offered them.
The JCVI’s current advice is that, once available, the vaccine for COVID-19 should be given to care home residents and staff, followed by people over 80, and health and social workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and risk.
The JCVI have not, as of yet, made any further recommendations on what professions should be prioritised in vaccine roll out.
Nov. 25 2020
Main Page: Children’s Minister keynote address on assistive technologyCongratulations! https://t.co/5OwntLHs0q
Written Evidence Nov. 25 2020
Inquiry: Home EducationWritten Evidence Nov. 25 2020
Inquiry: Home EducationWritten Evidence Nov. 25 2020
Inquiry: Home EducationWritten Evidence Nov. 25 2020
Inquiry: Home EducationCongratulations Mr. Bramley! https://t.co/5tKrv8jxLi
Congratulations Kerryann! https://t.co/c3lauRwNbY
“I cannot explain to you how wonderful, how magical, teachers and support staff” Thank you, Mrs Vance, and everyone in schools, for working so hard this year. Join us in celebrating our wonderful teachers and the winners of the @TeachingAwards on @BBCTheOneShow tonight at 7pm. https://t.co/GgJlidRMmP
Questioner: John McDonnell
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to (a) procure and (b) deliver (i) laptops and (ii) other home internet access to disadvantaged students in a timely manner during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answer (Nick Gibb)
As part of over £195 million invested to support remote education and access to online social care, over half a million laptops and tablets are being made available this year to support disadvantaged children in Years 3 to 11 whose face-to-face education may be disrupted.
Since September 2020, over 100,000 of these devices have already been delivered to schools. This supplements over 220,000 laptops and tablets and over 50,000 4G wireless routers, which have already been delivered during the summer term.
The Department is also working with mobile network operators to provide temporary access to free additional data, offering families flexibility to access the resources that they need the most. As part of a pilot, disadvantaged families have been able to access a free mobile data uplift for this term.
The Department is now working with mobile operators to provide a national service until the end of the 2020-21 academic year. We will continue to invite a range of mobile providers to support the offer.
These laptops and tablets are the property of the trust, local authority or school, and so will benefit children’s education long after we come out of the measures required to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.
More information on deliveries in this term can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/929064/Ad-hoc_stats_note_shipped_data_231020_FINAL.pdf.
Questioner: Conor McGinn
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to tackle educational disadvantage amongst white working class boys in (a) St Helens, (b) Merseyside and (c) England.
Answer (Nick Gibb)
Educational achievement is at the heart of our commitment to ensure no young person is left behind because of the place or circumstances of their birth. Most pupils now attend Good or Outstanding schools. As of March 2020, 86% of schools are Good or Outstanding compared to just 68% in 2010.
We are aware that pupils of all backgrounds have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and we are providing schools with the resources and tools to address lost education so that all pupils can catch up. Our £1 billion COVID-19 catch-up package is providing additional funding so that schools can support pupils who have been negatively affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. As part of this, the £650 million universal Catch-Up Premium is enabling all schools to identify and prioritise support for pupils to address their needs. This complements the National Tutoring Programme which is targeting £350 million to accelerate the academic progress of disadvantaged pupils by making high quality tutors available to schools in all regions at a greatly reduced rate.
Recognising that disadvantaged children may not have access to the resources they need to learn remotely, we have invested more than £195 million to support access to remote education and online social care. As part of this, we are making more than 340,000 laptops and tablets available this term to support disadvantaged children in Years 3 to 11 whose face-to-face education may be disrupted. This supplements more than 220,000 laptops and tablets and 50,000 4G wireless routers which were delivered during the summer term.
English schools continue to receive the pupil premium, worth £2.4 billion again this financial year, to enable them to arrange extra personalised support for disadvantaged pupils of all abilities. This year, schools in St Helens are sharing £9.7 million provided through this grant, with schools in the five local authorities in Merseyside sharing £82.4 million.
We founded the Education Endowment Foundation in 2011 to research and disseminate the most effective ways to improve disadvantaged pupil progress. So far, it has conducted 190 trials in 13,000 English schools leading to the publication of a comprehensive range of internationally recognised effective practice. The research shows schools effectively implementing the best evidence-based approaches can make a difference to every pupil’s future.
Questioner: John McDonnell
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, steps he is taking to improve understanding of the guidance on the use of personal protective equipment in (a) schools and (b) other educational settings.
Answer (Nick Gibb)
COVID-19 related Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) use is very limited for staff in education, childcare and children’s social care settings, and relates only to:
Further guidance on the use of PPE in education and childcare settings is available through the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings-including-the-use-of-personal-protective-equipment-ppe.
We continue to give schools and others in the education and childcare sectors information about our guidance, and any changes to it, through regular Departmental communications.