Asked by: Baroness Bull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have an official definition of developmental dyscalculia; and whether that definition is publicly available on the Department for Education website.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including dyscalculia, receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department does not have an official definition of dyscalculia.
Schools (and further education colleges, sixth-form colleges and 16-19 academies) are required to identify and address the special educational needs (SEN) of the pupils they support and, in the case of mainstream settings, to use their best endeavours to make sure that a child or young person who has SEN gets the support they need. All schools should apply the ‘graduated approach’ that is outlined in the SEND code of practice, which means identifying a child’s needs, planning appropriate support, implementing that support and reviewing it regularly to ensure it continues to meet the identified needs. Through this, schools should develop personalised approaches to supporting the unique needs of individual pupils.
High-quality teaching is central to ensuring that pupils with SEND are given the best possible opportunity to achieve in their education. To support all teachers, we are implementing high-quality teacher training reforms, which begins with Initial Teacher Training and continues into early career teaching and through to middle and senior leadership. These reforms are designed to ensure teachers have the skills to support all pupils to succeed, including those with dyscalculia.
All mainstream schools must have a special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) who must be a qualified teacher, or the headteacher, working at the school. On 1 September 2024, the department introduced a new mandatory leadership level national professional qualification (NPQ) for SENCOs. The NPQ will play a key role in improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND by ensuring SENCOs consistently receive high-quality, evidence-based training.
The department also funds the Maths Hubs programme, a school-led network aimed at improving the teaching of mathematics for all pupils in publicly funded schools, including those with SEND. The programme covers primary, secondary and special schools and uses a mastery-based teaching approach which is consistent with accepted practice on how children with dyscalculia can be effectively taught. This includes training for teachers on techniques such as avoiding cognitive overload by breaking the learning down into small, manageable steps, using representations to expose mathematical structure and ensuring that learning is sequenced in a coherent manner so it makes sense to pupils.
To further support the needs of pupils and students with SEND, the department has funded the Universal SEND Services programme, backed by almost £12 million. The programme brings together SEND-specific continuing professional development and support for schools and the further education workforce so that the needs of children and young people with SEND are met earlier and more effectively.
Asked by: Baroness Bull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the awareness of dyscalculia (1) in schools, and (2) among the educational workforce; and how (a) primary school teachers, (b) specialist maths teachers, and (c) special needs teachers and co-ordinators, are supported in working with dyscalculic pupils.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including dyscalculia, receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department does not have an official definition of dyscalculia.
Schools (and further education colleges, sixth-form colleges and 16-19 academies) are required to identify and address the special educational needs (SEN) of the pupils they support and, in the case of mainstream settings, to use their best endeavours to make sure that a child or young person who has SEN gets the support they need. All schools should apply the ‘graduated approach’ that is outlined in the SEND code of practice, which means identifying a child’s needs, planning appropriate support, implementing that support and reviewing it regularly to ensure it continues to meet the identified needs. Through this, schools should develop personalised approaches to supporting the unique needs of individual pupils.
High-quality teaching is central to ensuring that pupils with SEND are given the best possible opportunity to achieve in their education. To support all teachers, we are implementing high-quality teacher training reforms, which begins with Initial Teacher Training and continues into early career teaching and through to middle and senior leadership. These reforms are designed to ensure teachers have the skills to support all pupils to succeed, including those with dyscalculia.
All mainstream schools must have a special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) who must be a qualified teacher, or the headteacher, working at the school. On 1 September 2024, the department introduced a new mandatory leadership level national professional qualification (NPQ) for SENCOs. The NPQ will play a key role in improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND by ensuring SENCOs consistently receive high-quality, evidence-based training.
The department also funds the Maths Hubs programme, a school-led network aimed at improving the teaching of mathematics for all pupils in publicly funded schools, including those with SEND. The programme covers primary, secondary and special schools and uses a mastery-based teaching approach which is consistent with accepted practice on how children with dyscalculia can be effectively taught. This includes training for teachers on techniques such as avoiding cognitive overload by breaking the learning down into small, manageable steps, using representations to expose mathematical structure and ensuring that learning is sequenced in a coherent manner so it makes sense to pupils.
To further support the needs of pupils and students with SEND, the department has funded the Universal SEND Services programme, backed by almost £12 million. The programme brings together SEND-specific continuing professional development and support for schools and the further education workforce so that the needs of children and young people with SEND are met earlier and more effectively.
Asked by: Baroness Bull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their strategy for the early identification of pupils with dyscalculia.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including dyscalculia, receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department does not have an official definition of dyscalculia.
Schools (and further education colleges, sixth-form colleges and 16-19 academies) are required to identify and address the special educational needs (SEN) of the pupils they support and, in the case of mainstream settings, to use their best endeavours to make sure that a child or young person who has SEN gets the support they need. All schools should apply the ‘graduated approach’ that is outlined in the SEND code of practice, which means identifying a child’s needs, planning appropriate support, implementing that support and reviewing it regularly to ensure it continues to meet the identified needs. Through this, schools should develop personalised approaches to supporting the unique needs of individual pupils.
High-quality teaching is central to ensuring that pupils with SEND are given the best possible opportunity to achieve in their education. To support all teachers, we are implementing high-quality teacher training reforms, which begins with Initial Teacher Training and continues into early career teaching and through to middle and senior leadership. These reforms are designed to ensure teachers have the skills to support all pupils to succeed, including those with dyscalculia.
All mainstream schools must have a special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) who must be a qualified teacher, or the headteacher, working at the school. On 1 September 2024, the department introduced a new mandatory leadership level national professional qualification (NPQ) for SENCOs. The NPQ will play a key role in improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND by ensuring SENCOs consistently receive high-quality, evidence-based training.
The department also funds the Maths Hubs programme, a school-led network aimed at improving the teaching of mathematics for all pupils in publicly funded schools, including those with SEND. The programme covers primary, secondary and special schools and uses a mastery-based teaching approach which is consistent with accepted practice on how children with dyscalculia can be effectively taught. This includes training for teachers on techniques such as avoiding cognitive overload by breaking the learning down into small, manageable steps, using representations to expose mathematical structure and ensuring that learning is sequenced in a coherent manner so it makes sense to pupils.
To further support the needs of pupils and students with SEND, the department has funded the Universal SEND Services programme, backed by almost £12 million. The programme brings together SEND-specific continuing professional development and support for schools and the further education workforce so that the needs of children and young people with SEND are met earlier and more effectively.
Asked by: Baroness Bull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what funding support they plan to provide to enable universities to continue utilising PCR testing as their campuses reopen.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
We have worked with higher education providers to offer twice-weekly asymptomatic testing using lateral flow device (LFD) tests to all students residing in their term-time accommodation or accessing university facilities, and to all staff. This is playing an important role in identifying cases of the virus and breaking chains of transmission.
We have supported higher education providers in recovering the costs for the set-up and running of asymptomatic testing sites.
From May, higher education providers can offer their staff and students home test kits which can be collected from a location on campus.
Anyone that tests positive for COVID-19 through an LFD test is offered a confirmatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test free of charge, and the same applies to students and staff in the higher education sector.
Asked by: Baroness Bull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the value of (a) history, (b) politics, and (c) modern languages qualifications in the workforce of the future; and (2) the value of having studied such subjects for improved (a) international relations, and (b) intercultural understanding.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
?The government’s assessment is that studying these subjects can provide pupils with knowledge that will help them in later life, including improving their understanding of international relations and their intercultural understanding. We are pleased that the proportion of pupils taking history and languages GCSEs has increased since the government’s introduction of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) performance measure in 2010. Studying the EBacc subjects keeps pupils’ options open for further study and future employment.
Asked by: Baroness Bull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the conclusion of the report by the University of Nottingham, Time to Listen, published on 15 October, that arts and cultural education offers “systematic ways of developing understanding, new knowledge and skills”; and what steps they are taking to ensure that arts and cultural education is sufficiently prioritised in the national curriculum.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government agrees with the report on the value of arts and cultural education. In state maintained schools dance, music, art and design, and drama are a compulsory part of the National Curriculum at key stage 1 to key stage 3, with pupils having an entitlement to study an arts subject at key stage 4. All schools, including academies and free schools, must provide a broad and balanced curriculum.
The government is committed to funding music and arts, and has spent almost £500 million on related programmes between 2016 and 2020. This includes £300 million for music education hubs to ensure that all children have the opportunity to play and perform in choirs and ensembles. This spending also includes £118 million for the Music and Dance Scheme, which allows exceptionally talented young musicians and dancers to attend world-class institutions such as the Royal Ballet School and the Yehudi Menuhin School.
Between 2010 and 2018 the percentage of young people entering at least one arts GCSE has fluctuated but remained broadly stable.
Asked by: Baroness Bull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the report by the University of Nottingham, Time to Listen, 15 October, of the value of arts and cultural education.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government agrees with the report on the value of arts and cultural education. In state maintained schools dance, music, art and design, and drama are a compulsory part of the National Curriculum at key stage 1 to key stage 3, with pupils having an entitlement to study an arts subject at key stage 4. All schools, including academies and free schools, must provide a broad and balanced curriculum.
The government is committed to funding music and arts, and has spent almost £500 million on related programmes between 2016 and 2020. This includes £300 million for music education hubs to ensure that all children have the opportunity to play and perform in choirs and ensembles. This spending also includes £118 million for the Music and Dance Scheme, which allows exceptionally talented young musicians and dancers to attend world-class institutions such as the Royal Ballet School and the Yehudi Menuhin School.
Between 2010 and 2018 the percentage of young people entering at least one arts GCSE has fluctuated but remained broadly stable.