Fire Safety: Schools

Debate between Baroness Brinton and Lord Nash

Monday 3rd July 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

As I mentioned, the recent rather technical consultation we had on the precise wording upset a few people who thought we were reducing the expectation, which we certainly were not. I thought I had pretty much reached an agreement with the APPG on this—but I am very happy to have further discussions.

[Baroness Brinton (LD)]

My Lords, I am also a member of the APPG for Fire Safety and Rescue, which I joined when I came into your Lordships’ House because the primary school where I was chair of governors burned down in 2004. Because one and a half classrooms survived, it was deemed to be a refurbishment, and under the guidance there was no requirement to increase the level of safety to that required in new schools. The key thing for both new and refurbished schools is that the Government’s advice is advice—it is not statutory. Will the Minister ensure that it becomes mandatory to have the highest standard of safety protection, including sprinklers, in all schools, new and refurbished?

[Lord Nash]

We would expect all schools to follow that guidance, but I certainly will look at the point the noble Baroness makes.

Higher Education: Part-time and Mature Students

Debate between Baroness Brinton and Lord Nash

Tuesday 8th September 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Brinton]

My Lords, the Minister has said repeatedly in answering this Question that the Government want to stimulate the sector. If the issue is that employers will not provide support, what can the Government do to encourage employers to support part-time students, perhaps with some tax relief if they are supporting students gaining high-level qualifications which will benefit their businesses?

[Lord Nash]

I have already said that we have extended the loan scheme. The noble Baroness makes a very good point about tax breaks. We are looking at a number of alternatives and I will certainly take that point back.

Schools: Health and Well-being

Debate between Baroness Brinton and Lord Nash

Monday 15th June 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

We have provided £185 million for cooking facilities for schools and we are training cooks in this area. More schoolchildren have this opportunity. It is reaching 85% of schoolchildren. Not all take it up—not all have been in school on the day in question—but it is receiving comprehensive coverage.

[Baroness Brinton (LD)]

My Lords, much of the focus has been on mainstream schools and children’s nutrition. The pupils at Critchill special school in Frome grow their own vegetables, have chickens and manage their own eggs. On the day I visited they were making a tasty soup from their own vegetables and using maths, English and other skills. Is this excellent example of whole-school nutrition in special schools being disseminated elsewhere in the country?

Schools: Foreign Languages

Debate between Baroness Brinton and Lord Nash

Monday 26th January 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

That is certainly something that we will look at.

[Baroness Brinton (LD)]

My Lords, given that there has been a substantial increase in foreign language teaching in primary schools, are the Government concerned about the drop from 84% in 2012 to 76% in 2013—and what specifically are they doing to make sure that primary foreign language teaching does not drop further?

[Lord Nash]

I am not entirely sure that I understand the point; I may have to pick it up in correspondence.

Ofsted: Academy Chains

Debate between Baroness Brinton and Lord Nash

Monday 26th January 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

There have not been any concessions. It is completely unnecessary for Ofsted to inspect chains’ head offices. Its batched inspection methodology, which it has used in a number of cases, is working extremely well. Ofsted has a great deal to do. As of September this year, it is taking in-house all its subcontracted inspectors, who do the vast majority of its inspections, and it is unnecessary to ask it to do a further task that is not needed.

[Baroness Brinton (LD)]

Could my noble friend explain to the House what role the new regional commissioners will have in relation to academy chains and Ofsted? For example, if Ofsted finds that a school is not being supported as it should be by its parent academy chain, whose responsibility is it to remonstrate with the academy chain and make sure that it gets that support?

[Lord Nash]

The regional schools commissioners are responsible for looking at the performance of academy chains, particularly schools that are doing poorly. They are in close touch with all academy chains. Each regional schools commissioner has a responsibility for an academy chain, and it will be their task to make sure that appropriate support is brokered and, in extreme cases, to help to broker a change of sponsor.

Children and Families Bill

Debate between Baroness Brinton and Lord Nash

Monday 28th October 2013 Grand Committee

[Lord Nash]

I could not agree more with the noble Baroness’s point: habits formed early or seen in the home life are difficult to break. We must constantly do all we can, particularly in our education system, to break such bad cycles. I take the point and I would be happy to discuss it with her further.

[Baroness Brinton]

My Lords, I am very grateful to the Minister for his response. Perhaps I could briefly take each of the three areas that he outlined. I would be grateful to talk to him and his civil servants about the definition of bullying because it seems to me, and I am sure to others, that the key is the imbalance of power. Most schools would accept that, although there may be some other issues around the edges, the imbalance of power is absolutely at the core between the aggressors and the victims. I am also grateful to the Minister for saying that he would be happy to look at guidance again. I hope that he would be happy to have a meeting with some of us and to report back to us on progress there.

However, there is a concern. I am pleased that there are 33 alternative provision centres but, for 16,000 children, that is not a very large amount. The Minister also seemed to echo the response that the DfE has given elsewhere about there being a lack of understanding of the importance of virtual or cyberlearning access. That can often be the transition into education, for exactly the reasons that the noble Baroness, Lady Morris, outlined. I hope therefore that it might be possible to continue the discussion outside Committee. For the moment, I am certainly happy to withdraw the amendment but I warn the Committee that I will be bringing something back on Report.

[Lord Nash]

If I may clarify one point, I was talking about 33 new AP providers being approved under the free schools programme. Obviously, many more AP providers exist in the country.

Schools: Careers Service

Debate between Baroness Brinton and Lord Nash

Wednesday 23rd October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I think that the noble Baroness’s ambitions and objectives for careers guidance are the same as mine. However, I disagree that the gold standard is a face-to-face interview with a careers adviser. The gold standard is what all good schools do, which is to seek to identify their pupils’ passions, interests, aptitudes, strengths and weaknesses at an early stage and to work with them throughout their time at school to provide a direct line of sight and contact with the workplace. That is what a good education is all about. A few interviews at the end of your time in school is a poor substitute for that.

[Baroness Brinton (LD)]

My Lords, given that the Ofsted report said that three out of four schools were not working well with the new arrangement, despite a handful of excellent examples, this is a devastating indictment. The Barnardo’s research shows that pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds need that face-to-face quality, independent advice. In the recent Education Act, the new code of practice said that vulnerable pupils need this face-to-face advice. Will the Government tell us whether this is happening and, if they do not have the figures, should they not be asking for them?

[Lord Nash]

My Lords, the noble Baroness uses the expression “a devastating indictment”. The previous Connexions regime did not work and hardly anyone, from Ofsted to Alan Milburn, had a good word to say about it. That is pretty devastating. There is clear guidance on pupils who will specifically benefit from face-to-face advice—disadvantaged pupils and those with learning difficulties or disabilities. I think that I have made my position clear. What we regard as a really first-class education is what I outlined rather than last-minute careers advice.

Schools: Admission Policies

Debate between Baroness Brinton and Lord Nash

Monday 22nd July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

The noble Baroness is right that it is important to distinguish between faith schools and the selection criteria of those schools.

[Baroness Brinton]

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for confirming earlier that some religious free schools can select up to 50%. How does the department monitor the percentage of admission by faith in schools, particularly in those previously independent religious schools that are now free schools.

[Lord Nash]

We are very keen that, under the free schools programme, all schools have as open an admissions policy as possible, consistent with the general policy on faith. I will need to write to the noble Baroness with full details to answer that question.

Education: Sex Education

Debate between Baroness Brinton and Lord Nash

Monday 8th July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

Our teenage pregnancy rates are now at their lowest level in more than 40 years, and data for 2011, released by the Office for National Statistics in February this year, showed a continuing decline. The Government believe that the best protection is a good education, and we believe that our curriculum reforms will strike the right balance to allow all schools to improve their focus on the issues that are relevant to the circumstances.

[Baroness Brinton]

My Lords, I am sure that the House is pleased that the Government have put more about sex and relationships into the curriculum, but surely some concerns must remain if academies can choose not to teach it. How are the Government going to ensure that academies teach young people about sex and relationships?

[Lord Nash]

My noble friend is quite right that academies are not obliged to teach sex education, although, if they do, they have to have regard to the Secretary of State’s guidance on these matters. I repeat the point that Ofsted inspects for all social, moral and cultural provision in schools, and we will be ensuring that it focuses on this point.

Education: Sex and Relationship Education

Debate between Baroness Brinton and Lord Nash

Tuesday 18th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

Nobody wishes to deny the importance of the points that the noble Baroness makes. I will be delighted to meet her, and I would like to understand more about this issue.

[Baroness Brinton]

My Lords, given that, it seems, everyone who has asked a question today agrees that teachers are the best people to deliver specific sex and relationship advice to their pupils, when were the guidance notes on best practice in schools updated?

[Lord Nash]

The most recent guidance is from Ofsted, which recently introduced a very good report. Part B of that report contains some excellent recommendations on best practice. They flag up a number of very useful resources available to teachers, including the Sex Education Forum.

Schools: Bullying

Debate between Baroness Brinton and Lord Nash

Thursday 16th May 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Brinton]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what funding is available to enable self-excluded severely bullied children to return to education.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Nash)]

My Lords, bullying should not be tolerated. Schools should take action to prevent bullying and protect pupils. Alternative provision is provided if a pupil cannot remain in a mainstream school. This enables pupils to receive education in different settings with specialist support if necessary, including for a return to a mainstream school. Some parents may none the less decide to withdraw their child altogether from all state-funded education. Local authorities may offer support to parents in those circumstances.

[Baroness Brinton]

I thank the Minister for his response. Given that the National Centre for Social Research report in 2011 estimated that 16,500 young people aged 11 to 15 are absent from state schools where bullying is the main reason, does the Minister agree that specialist education and psychological support interventions, such as the very successful Red Balloon Learner Centres, are the best way of helping these children back into mainstream schooling? Can he also say how such interventions can be funded if it is voluntary on local authorities’ behalf?

[Lord Nash]

The noble Baroness’s pioneering work in this field in Cambridgeshire is a model of best practice, and I am familiar with Red Balloon’s work. I very much agree with her that, for some severely bullied children, the type of intervention she describes may well be the most appropriate provision to support a pupil returning to mainstream education. However, that will not always be the case. Severely bullied children are not a homogenous group and among them will be some with a wide variety of specific needs and requirements. Local authorities can commission appropriate provision from a wide variety of providers and are funded to do so.

Childcare Ratios

Debate between Baroness Brinton and Lord Nash

Thursday 9th May 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

We will look more carefully at the issues that the noble Baroness raises. I undertake to do that.

[Baroness Brinton]

My Lords, given that the cost of childcare has exceeded inflation substantially over the past 10 years since the current ratios were introduced, and given that the Government are considering tax refunds and support for parents, are they looking at any other mechanisms to make childcare more affordable?

[Lord Nash]

Those are the main mechanisms that we are looking at. I will write to the noble Baroness if I become aware of any other mechanisms.

Schools: Careers Guidance

Debate between Baroness Brinton and Lord Nash

Monday 4th March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I am aware of the concerns to which the noble Baroness refers. However, hardly anyone—from Alan Milburn to Ofsted—had a good word to say about the quality or effectiveness of the careers guidance provided by Connexions. That is why we gave responsibility for securing careers guidance to schools. They know their pupils best and can tailor provision to their individual needs. The £200 million we have saved on Connexions careers guidance has gone to help protect the schools budget, which itself is a pretty remarkable performance bearing in mind the state of the public finances we inherited. We know of schools which have seized the opportunity.

There is no gold standard for careers advice. It is a difficult area. The duty has been in place for less than two terms. To check on progress, we have asked Ofsted to undertake a thematic review, which will be published in the summer. Information on websites can be very helpful, and the Government are considering the Select Committee’s recommendation and will respond shortly.

[Baroness Brinton]

My Lords, I thank the Government for extending the duty for careers advice from years 8 to 13 from September of this year. However, in response to a Written Question on 27 February in which I asked about the status of independent careers advice in academies, the Minister reassured me that academies opened after September 2012 would be covered by the guidance, but those which opened prior to that are not. Does the Minister agree that it cannot be right that some pupils in schools have access to that advice and others do not?

[Lord Nash]

It is true that academies opened since September of last year will have an obligation in the same terms but academies opened prior to that do not. We have written to all those academies making them aware of this advice and asking them to change their funding agreements accordingly. Good schools seek to identify their students’ aptitudes at an early age and to give them guidance throughout their school career. We take the view that one minimum face-to-face interview at the end of one’s school career is a poor substitute for a broad education.

Children and Young People

Debate between Baroness Brinton and Lord Nash

Wednesday 23rd January 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

The Government believe that listening to those who use services is one of the best ways to improve them. Indeed, a lot of the new Ofsted framework is based on what it has been told by children, and the framework is now much more focused on outcomes for children. We have strengthened the children in care councils and strengthened legislation on the role of the independent reviewing officers to give them a duty to monitor the support provided for children under their care plans.

[Baroness Brinton]

My Lords, following the Minister’s helpful comments about service users’ comments, the Care Leavers’ Association has grown steadily since it was formed in 2000 and, in its own words, is:

“An ever growing union of care leavers”.

Its advice and support is exemplary and a real help to young people getting ready to leave care. Can the Minister assure the House that every child facing the transition into leaving care is given the link to this website by their social worker, foster parent or care home manager?

[Lord Nash]

My Lords, the Care Leavers’ Association is an excellent user-led charity run by care leavers for care leavers. I agree that local authorities should give information to all care leavers about the support and advice that they can get from a range of voluntary sector groups, including the Care Leavers’ Association.