Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the potential merits of permitting the proactive use of data by local authorities to identify and register all children eligible for free school meals.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Maximising the take-up of free school meals is important in ensuring that as many eligible children as possible benefit from a healthy and nutritious meal. The department aims to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility.
To support this, an Eligibility Checking System has been provided to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities.
The department has looked at this issue and considers there to be merit in local authorities exploring initiatives to maximise take up and to better understand the barriers that prevent such take up, whilst ensuring adherence to legal and data protection constraints.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their policy on the proactive use of data by local authorities to identify and register all children eligible for free school meals.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Maximising the take-up of free school meals is important in ensuring that as many eligible children as possible benefit from a healthy and nutritious meal. The department aims to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility.
To support this, an Eligibility Checking System has been provided to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities.
The department has looked at this issue and considers there to be merit in local authorities exploring initiatives to maximise take up and to better understand the barriers that prevent such take up, whilst ensuring adherence to legal and data protection constraints.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the education system adequately reflects the challenges presented by climate change in terms of (1) the curriculum, (2) teacher training, and (3) the energy efficiency of educational facilities.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
It is vital that young people are taught about climate change. For this reason, related topics are included throughout both the science and geography curricula and GCSEs. In primary science and geography, pupils are given a firm foundation for the further study of the environment in secondary school. For example, in primary science pupils are taught about how environments can change as a result of human actions. They will learn about animals’ habitats, including that changes to the environment may pose dangers to living things.
In secondary science, pupils are taught about the production of carbon dioxide by human activity and the effect this has on the climate. This is expanded on in GCSE science where pupils will consider the evidence for additional anthropogenic causes of climate change. As part of GCSE geography pupils will look at the causes, consequences of and responses to extreme weather conditions and natural weather hazards. In 2017, we also introduced a new environmental science A level. This will enable students to study topics that will support their understanding of climate change and how it can be tackled.
School and teachers can go beyond the topics set out in the national curriculum, or do more in-depth teaching of these topic areas, if they so wish.
We are supporting recruitment and retention of teachers in these subjects to ensure that schools have the expertise to teach topics relating to climate change effectively. In science, trainee teachers are offered bursaries of £26,000 and scholarships of £28,000 to attract top science graduates into teaching. New physics and chemistry teachers will soon be offered early-career payments of up to £9,000 during their first four years of teaching. We also fund Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) courses for geography and the sciences. These are courses designed to help applicants gain the depth of subject knowledge needed to train to teach their chosen subject.
The new Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework, published 1 November 2019, sets out a core minimum entitlement for all trainees of what should be covered during their teacher training, irrespective of subject or phase. The government does not prescribe the curriculum of ITT or SKE courses and it remains for individual providers to design curricula appropriate for the subject, phase and age range that the trainees will be teaching. Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) will continue to be awarded at the end of ITT against the Teachers’ Standards, which includes secure knowledge of relevant subjects and curriculum areas.
We also support energy efficiency in educational facilities through our capital funding and programmes, both to reduce the carbon footprint and save schools money on energy. We have allocated almost £9 billion in condition funding since 2015 to maintain and improve school buildings. Condition funding can be invested in projects which improve energy efficiency. In addition, interest free loans for energy efficiency projects have been made available through the government backed Salix finance scheme.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proposals set out in Teach the Future’s Green Recovery for Education initiative; and whether retrofitting educational buildings will be included as a priority in (1) the national infrastructure strategy, and (2) the COVID-19 recovery strategy.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The department supports sustainability through its capital funding programmes, both to reduce carbon and save schools and the wider education estate money on energy.
We have allocated almost £9 billion in condition funding since 2015 to maintain and improve school buildings. In addition, the Priority School Building Programme is rebuilding or refurbishing school buildings in the worst condition across the country, covering over 500 schools.
Condition funding can be invested in projects which improve energy efficiency. In addition, interest free loans for energy efficiency projects are available through the government backed Salix finance scheme.
More broadly, we are working with colleagues across government on carbon reduction and energy efficiency, and we are developing thinking on how future school capital programmes can contribute further.
Like all departments, we are doing a great deal of preparatory work to understand what resources the education sector needs over the coming years, including as part of the wider response to COVID-19.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential for all new state-funded educational buildings to be net-zero from 2022 and all existing state-funded educational buildings to be retrofitted to net-zero by 2030.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The department supports sustainability through its capital funding programmes, both to reduce carbon and save schools and the wider education estate money on energy.
We have allocated almost £9 billion in condition funding since 2015 to maintain and improve school buildings. In addition, the Priority School Building Programme is rebuilding or refurbishing school buildings in the worst condition across the country, covering over 500 schools.
Condition funding can be invested in projects which improve energy efficiency. In addition, interest free loans for energy efficiency projects are available through the government backed Salix finance scheme.
More broadly, we are working with colleagues across government on carbon reduction and energy efficiency, and we are developing thinking on how future school capital programmes can contribute further.
Like all departments, we are doing a great deal of preparatory work to understand what resources the education sector needs over the coming years, including as part of the wider response to COVID-19.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of children who are eligible for the national voucher scheme; and what is the current rate of take up in England.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
As both my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.
Our latest guidance on for schools is set out below:
During this period, we are asking schools to support children who are eligible for and claiming benefits-related free school meals, by providing meals or food parcels through their existing food providers wherever possible. However, we recognise that providing meals and food parcels is not a practicable option for all schools. That is why on 31 March we launched a national voucher scheme as an alternative option, with costs covered by the Department for Education.
Schools are best placed to make decisions about the most appropriate arrangements for eligible pupils and this can include food parcel arrangements, alternative voucher arrangements or provision through the national voucher scheme.
Edenred has reported that over £101.5 million worth of voucher codes have been redeemed into supermarket eGift cards by schools and families through the scheme as of Friday 22 May. Edenred has also reported that 17,000 schools had placed orders for the scheme as of Tuesday 12 May. We do not collect data on the scheme at pupil level.
The number and proportion of students who qualify for free school meals is published in the ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ publication and its underlying data files. As of the 2019 school census, there are around 1.3 million children eligible for and claiming free school meals. Statistics for the 2020 school census are not yet available. The 2019 publication is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2019.
These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current take up rate of the national voucher scheme; and how many vouchers provided through that scheme have been spent in supermarkets.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
As my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have both made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by Covid-19.
Our latest guidance for schools is set out below:
During this period, we are asking schools to support children who are eligible for and claiming benefits-related free school meals by providing meals or food parcels through their existing food providers wherever possible. We know that many schools are successfully delivering food parcels or arranging food collections for eligible children and we encourage this approach where it is possible.
Where this is not possible, we have introduced a national voucher scheme to provide headteachers with additional flexibility to decide what is best for families at their schools. More information about the national voucher scheme is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools.
As of Friday 22 May, Edenred reported that over £101.5 million has been redeemed into supermarket vouchers by families and schools. As of Tuesday 12 May, Edenred reported that 17,000 schools had placed an order. Schools will continue to receive their core funding allocations as normal.
These are rapidly developing circumstances. We will continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the length of time it has taken for the national voucher scheme to issue and deliver vouchers to schools and families; and what plans they have to (1) speed up the process for families, and (2) reduce the administration required from schools.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
As my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have both made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by Covid-19.
During this period, we are asking schools to support children who are eligible for and claiming benefits-related free school meals by providing meals or food parcels through their existing food providers wherever possible. We know that many schools are successfully delivering food parcels or arranging food collections for eligible children and we encourage this approach where it is possible.
Where this is not possible, we have introduced a national voucher scheme to provide headteachers with additional flexibility to decide what is best for families at their schools. More information about the national voucher scheme is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools.
We are working very closely with our supplier, Edenred, to improve the performance of the national voucher scheme. We are very grateful to families and schools for their understanding and patience whilst we upgrade this service to meet increased demand. Edenred have written to schools using the system to encourage them to order vouchers in bulk as this is more efficient for both the system and the school, enabling orders to be processed more quickly.
Edenred has reported that over £101.5 million worth of voucher codes have been redeemed into supermarket eGift cards by schools and families through the scheme as of 22 May and that 17,000 schools had placed orders for the scheme as of 12 May. Schools will continue to receive their core funding allocations as normal. However, if schools are unable to use the national voucher scheme and choose an alternative approach, they can be reimbursed through the exceptional costs fund, where the costs cannot be met from their existing resources. Further details are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-schools.
These are rapidly developing circumstances. We will continue to keep the situation under review and to keep Parliament updated accordingly.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to measure the success of the national voucher scheme; and whether they have access to supermarket data on (1) the amount of vouchers spent, and (2) what foods such vouchers were spent on, in order to assess whether the scheme was successful in supporting healthy eating.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
As both my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19.
Our latest guidance for schools is set out below:
During this period, we are asking schools to support pupils eligible for benefits-related free school meals by providing meals or food parcels through their existing food providers wherever possible. However, we recognise that providing meals and food parcels is not a practicable option for all schools. That is why on 31 March we launched a national voucher scheme as an alternative option, with costs covered by the Department for Education.
Voucher codes are being processed and many thousands of families are redeeming them. Edenred has reported that over £101.5 million worth of voucher codes have been redeemed into supermarket eGift cards by schools and families through the scheme as of Friday 22 May. Edenred has reported that 17,000 schools had placed orders for the scheme as of Tuesday 12 May.
Families are free to select the most appropriate food and drink for their child. When selecting products, we encourage families to consider health and nutrition. The School Food Standards may act as a useful guide for families and is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standards-for-school-food-in-england.
The vouchers should not be redeemed for any age-restricted items, such as alcohol, cigarettes or lottery tickets.
There are a number of online resources available to support families in preparing healthy and nutritious food, including on the NHS Eat Well website: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/?tabname=recipes-and-tips.
Provision for free school meals is ordinarily term time only. However, during the Easter holidays the department met the costs of offering free school meals to eligible pupils not attending school during term time weeks. This was in recognition of the unprecedented levels of disruption and uncertainty for schools during this time.
These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued to support families to feed children nutritious food that meets school food standards whist schools are closed.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
As both my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19.
Our latest guidance for schools is set out below:
During this period, we are asking schools to support pupils eligible for benefits-related free school meals by providing meals or food parcels through their existing food providers wherever possible. However, we recognise that providing meals and food parcels is not a practicable option for all schools. That is why on 31 March we launched a national voucher scheme as an alternative option, with costs covered by the Department for Education.
Voucher codes are being processed and many thousands of families are redeeming them. Edenred has reported that over £101.5 million worth of voucher codes have been redeemed into supermarket eGift cards by schools and families through the scheme as of Friday 22 May. Edenred has reported that 17,000 schools had placed orders for the scheme as of Tuesday 12 May.
Families are free to select the most appropriate food and drink for their child. When selecting products, we encourage families to consider health and nutrition. The School Food Standards may act as a useful guide for families and is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standards-for-school-food-in-england.
The vouchers should not be redeemed for any age-restricted items, such as alcohol, cigarettes or lottery tickets.
There are a number of online resources available to support families in preparing healthy and nutritious food, including on the NHS Eat Well website: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/?tabname=recipes-and-tips.
Provision for free school meals is ordinarily term time only. However, during the Easter holidays the department met the costs of offering free school meals to eligible pupils not attending school during term time weeks. This was in recognition of the unprecedented levels of disruption and uncertainty for schools during this time.
These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.