Covid-19: Pre-school Sector

Baroness Blower Excerpts

Monday 8th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Berridge]

My Lords, the Minister for this area has been in close contact with the Early Years Alliance and other sector groups in relation to the support available. We plan to pay the early years entitlements regardless of the uptake of that, which is worth £3.6 billion this year, and have issued specific guidance on how the sector can access the job retention scheme and business interruption loans.

[Baroness Blower (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, I refer to my interests in the register. A large amount of private provision has indeed closed during the pandemic. Maintained nursery schools have taken in additional children and become hubs for vulnerable children and the children of key workers. The 2019 supplementary funding of £60 million was welcome, but it leaves maintained nursery schools with real-terms cash equivalent only to that of 2015. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that maintained nursery schools are adequately funded both now and in future?

[Baroness Berridge]

My Lords, the Government recognise the commitment of the 391 remaining maintained nursery schools, which often operate in areas of disadvantage. The noble Baroness is right that £60 million of funding is still received by that sector regardless of the uptake. In addition to that, there is a £300 per child per year early years pupil premium. We remain committed to the maintained nursery sector.

Covid-19: Schools

Baroness Blower Excerpts

Wednesday 20th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blower (Lab)]

My Lords, I refer the House to my entry in the register of interests in relation to the National Education Union. Speaking in another place on 13 May, the Secretary of State said he was happy to share all advice received from SAGE. The National Education Union has analysed the SAGE evidence and papers available on GOV.UK. Most of the evidence explicitly relating to children and education—80% of it; nine out of 11 papers—is unpublished. SAGE has not published any evidence for over a week, at a time when critical decisions are being taken, and there is no record of SAGE papers for the last month, published or unpublished. Will the Minister urge the Government to expedite the publication of all scientific advice and evidence, in particular relating to “test, track, trace and isolate”, to try to build confidence among the public, parents and the education workforce in how schools could open to more children and students safely, bearing in mind that, as she said, schools are generally open for vulnerable children and the children of key workers and that teachers not in schools are at present teaching their pupils both online and through a variety of means?

[Baroness Berridge]

My Lords, the Secretary of State outlined that the evidence will be published. As I have said, the latest updates from SAGE have been published; the latest was on 5 May. We are committed to transparency and enabling access to the evidence on which we rely. On that evidence, Public Health England’s guidance to us is that there can be a hierarchy of controls in schools, beginning with nobody symptomatic being in schools. Once those controls are in place, we can substantially reduce the risk of transmission in education settings.

Educational Settings

Baroness Blower Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, we have 10 further minutes for Back-Bench questions on the Statement if noble Lords wish.

[Baroness Blower (Lab)]

My Lords, I am sure that the Minister recognises that it takes quite a while to get an education, health and care plan in place. I have been approached overnight by a number of teachers who are very concerned that there are children who are half way through the process and who will not yet have a plan, but who are vulnerable. Schools would definitely want to welcome them in. Can she confirm that it will be for the schools to decide which children come into the vulnerable category? Can she further confirm that the vouchers, which have been put in place very quickly, will actually be redeemable and that there will be somewhere for them to be redeemed, and that schools which want to keep their kitchens open will in some way or other be assured of food deliveries?

As the Minister said, local authorities will have a role in ensuring that all schools, whatever their governance, type and style, are encouraged to work together through the local authority to make provision in the most effective way. Can the Minister confirm that teachers are also key workers in these circumstances, and that their children have to go to school so that they can be at work providing a place for other people’s children to be looked after and, we hope, in some measure educated?

[Baroness Berridge]

My Lords, on vulnerable children, the EHC plan process and the needs assessment, we expect head teachers to collaborate with the local authority. There will be discretion for them on who is considered a vulnerable child. We trust them to make the appropriate decisions.

It has been clarified by the Box that the vouchers we are talking about are supermarket vouchers. Some schools have already been purchasing supermarket vouchers, which is why we say that they will be reimbursed for that cost. I know that all schools, including those in the independent sector, and childcare providers will be working closely on the ground to ensure that we can deliver this change in education to enable key workers to keep the services going that we need to protect us from the disease. As I said, the list of key workers will come out today, but I can confirm that teachers are key workers.