Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) consideration they have given, and (2) discussions they have had with key stakeholders, on setting sufficiency benchmarks for youth service provision.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
As set out in section 507B of the Education Act 1996, local authorities have a statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people. This is funded from the local government settlement, which has been increased to £64 billion next year, with a further £500 million from central government dedicated to supporting children and adult social care in recognition of the pressures local authorities are facing.
In September 2023, DCMS published updated statutory guidance to support local authorities’ understanding of the existing duty and how to deliver it. Alongside this, DCMS funds a peer review programme for local authorities to learn from each other about the best approaches to youth service provision. We received positive feedback from the areas that have already taken part, and are supporting more areas this year.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how information education, such as youth work, can complement formal education; and what discussions they have had with key stakeholders.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
HM Government recognises the vital role that informal education, such as youth work, can play in complementing formal education received by young people.
Recent Government research on this topic includes the ‘Youth provision and life outcomes’ study commissioned by DCMS and published in February, and a process evaluation of the Essential Life Skills programme published by the Department for Education in 2020. The Essential Life Skills Programme (2018-19) saw a £21 million investment to implement enhanced extra-curricular activities in primary and secondary schools across 12 Opportunity Areas. Evaluation of the programme revealed high engagement and attendance, particularly among disadvantaged pupils, with reported benefits in confidence, resilience, relationship-building, and social and emotional intelligence.
DCMS and DfE are building on what we learned from this programme to test a new approach to supporting secondary schools to deliver enrichment programmes through the Enrichment Partnership Pilot. This is funded by HM Treasury’s Shared Outcomes Fund, and is being delivered by the National Citizen Service Trust and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. The pilot is being evaluated by the National Foundation for Educational Research.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support local authorities to fulfil their statutory duty to secure a ‘local youth offer’.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
As set out in section 507B of the Education Act 1996, local authorities have a statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people. This is funded from the local government settlement which has been increased to £64 billion next year, with a further £500 million dedicated to supporting children and adult social care in recognition of the pressures local authorities are facing.
In September 2023, DCMS published updated statutory guidance to support local authorities’ understanding of the existing duty and how to deliver it. Alongside this, DCMS funds a peer review programme for local authorities to learn from each other about the best approaches to youth service provision. We received positive feedback from the areas that have already taken part and are supporting more areas this year.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure youth work is considered in the same esteem as other key professions.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS supports the youth work workforce through funding the National Youth Agency to deliver its core functions: the maintenance of youth work qualifications, the development of a youth worker and youth services registry, and improved safeguarding and risk management across the sector. This funding ensures that youth workers will have access to high-quality training and support. It also underpins the delivery of the National Youth Guarantee, by helping to ensure that there is a sufficiently qualified and supported workforce.
In addition, over the past three years we have funded the Agency to provide bursaries to help more than 2,000 youth workers access training and qualifications. In particular, the bursary programme supports people from lower socio-economic backgrounds and under-represented groups. In the most recent round of bursary funding, Level 4 certificate places were included for the first time, which will help to enhance the experience and training of existing youth workers and provide a clearer career and development pathway, supporting retention in the sector.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the letter from Professor Brian Bell, Chair of the Migration Advisory Committee, to the Home Secretary on 12 March, why the timescales of the rapid review of the Graduate Route, which they have asked the Migration Advisory Committee to undertake, are much shorter than a normal commission.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
It is important we provide certainty on this issue in a timely manner, which is why we asked the MAC to carry out a rapid review. We will consider the evidence put forward by the MAC very closely.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the gender divide amongst science and maths teachers in order to provide more positive role models for girls in the classroom.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The department is offering a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 after tax annually for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools, including in Education Investment Areas. For 2024/25 and 2025/26, the department will be doubling the rates of the Levelling Up Premium to up to £6,000 after tax. These payments will incentivise the recruitment and retention of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers within the schools where they are needed most.
The department has put in place a range of measures, including bursaries worth £28,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £30,000 tax-free, to encourage talented trainee teachers to key subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing. This is alongside delivering a £30,000 starting salary for school teachers in all regions of the country, with a pay award of up to 7.1% for new teachers outside London.
This academic year, physics trainees from overseas are also eligible for bursaries and scholarships, and for a one-off payment of £10,000 as part of the international relocation payment pilot.
To encourage engineering graduates and career changers with an engineering background to consider a career as a physics teacher, the department has also launched the ‘Engineers teach physics’ Initial Teacher Training course. Following a pilot in 2022, the department has now rolled this out nationally.
The department is also taking action to support all teachers to stay in the profession and thrive and has published a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing and to support schools to introduce flexible working practices.
On the subject of diverse teacher role models in science and mathematics, there remains a larger proportion of female teachers than male teachers in state-funded schools overall (76%).
The department aims to support the diversity of the workforce through our communications campaigns, workforce programmes that support all teachers to develop across their careers, and policies to support the workforce, such as flexible working. For example, the Get Into Teaching marketing campaign supports diverse recruitment into the profession through inclusive recruitment campaigns and marketing materials, which strive to reflect the diversity of our target audiences who want reassurance that teaching is for people like them. The campaign regularly showcases STEM teachers from diverse backgrounds.
The department supports a range of work to improve diversity and inclusion in STEM education in schools, including funding a Stimulating Physics Network to improve the quality of physics teaching and improve progression to A level physics, particularly for girls.
More widely, the government supports girls and pupils from other underrepresented groups into STEM education through programmes such as the CyberFirst Girls competition which aims to promote cybersecurity careers to girls aged between 12 and 14.
The government also funds the STEM Ambassadors programme, a nationwide network of over 30,000 registered volunteers representing thousands of employers, who engage with young people to increase their interest in STEM subjects and to raise awareness of the range of careers that STEM qualifications offer. Approximately 48% of Ambassadors are women and 17% are from minority ethnic backgrounds, providing young people with a variety of role models.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) recruit, and (2) retain, more science and maths teachers in schools serving the most disadvantaged communities.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The department is offering a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 after tax annually for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools, including in Education Investment Areas. For 2024/25 and 2025/26, the department will be doubling the rates of the Levelling Up Premium to up to £6,000 after tax. These payments will incentivise the recruitment and retention of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers within the schools where they are needed most.
The department has put in place a range of measures, including bursaries worth £28,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £30,000 tax-free, to encourage talented trainee teachers to key subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing. This is alongside delivering a £30,000 starting salary for school teachers in all regions of the country, with a pay award of up to 7.1% for new teachers outside London.
This academic year, physics trainees from overseas are also eligible for bursaries and scholarships, and for a one-off payment of £10,000 as part of the international relocation payment pilot.
To encourage engineering graduates and career changers with an engineering background to consider a career as a physics teacher, the department has also launched the ‘Engineers teach physics’ Initial Teacher Training course. Following a pilot in 2022, the department has now rolled this out nationally.
The department is also taking action to support all teachers to stay in the profession and thrive and has published a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing and to support schools to introduce flexible working practices.
On the subject of diverse teacher role models in science and mathematics, there remains a larger proportion of female teachers than male teachers in state-funded schools overall (76%).
The department aims to support the diversity of the workforce through our communications campaigns, workforce programmes that support all teachers to develop across their careers, and policies to support the workforce, such as flexible working. For example, the Get Into Teaching marketing campaign supports diverse recruitment into the profession through inclusive recruitment campaigns and marketing materials, which strive to reflect the diversity of our target audiences who want reassurance that teaching is for people like them. The campaign regularly showcases STEM teachers from diverse backgrounds.
The department supports a range of work to improve diversity and inclusion in STEM education in schools, including funding a Stimulating Physics Network to improve the quality of physics teaching and improve progression to A level physics, particularly for girls.
More widely, the government supports girls and pupils from other underrepresented groups into STEM education through programmes such as the CyberFirst Girls competition which aims to promote cybersecurity careers to girls aged between 12 and 14.
The government also funds the STEM Ambassadors programme, a nationwide network of over 30,000 registered volunteers representing thousands of employers, who engage with young people to increase their interest in STEM subjects and to raise awareness of the range of careers that STEM qualifications offer. Approximately 48% of Ambassadors are women and 17% are from minority ethnic backgrounds, providing young people with a variety of role models.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the confidence gap between girls and boys studying STEM subjects at school.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The department supports a range of work to improve the uptake and attainment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects to give everyone, regardless of their background or where they live, the opportunity to pursue an education and career in STEM. To support this, the department has committed substantial funding to programmes designed to help facilitate this.
As part of the department’s significant investment in the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE), the ‘I Belong’ programme is available to secondary schools. Focused on Key Stage 3, ‘I Belong’ aims to improve schools’ awareness of the barriers to girls’ engagement with computing and it is designed to support them to improve the take up of computer science qualifications within their school. This is in addition to the wider work of the NCCE to improve the quality of the teaching of computing across all key stages, through the provision of free teaching resources and high-quality continuing professional development.
The department also funds the Isaac Physics programme, an online platform of GCSE and A level physics materials developed by Cambridge University designed to increase the numbers of students, particularly from typically underrepresented backgrounds, studying physics in higher education.
Additionally, Maths Hubs deliver the department's Teaching for Mastery programme, which is bringing teaching practice from high performing East Asian jurisdictions to primary and secondary schools across England. The programme aims to reach 75% of primary schools and 65% of secondary schools by 2025. Mastery teaching is characterised by whole-class teaching, where all pupils are given equal access to the curriculum and they are encouraged with the belief that by working hard they can succeed.
The Advanced Mathematics Support Programme (AMSP) provides support for all teachers and students in England as well as additional, targeted support in areas of low social mobility so that, whatever their location, background or gender, students can choose their best post-16 mathematics pathway and access high-quality teaching. The AMSP has a particular focus on supporting girls into mathematics and runs a variety of enrichment and engagement sessions specifically for girls.
The department also supports the STEM Ambassadors programme which is a nationwide network of 30,000 registered volunteers from over 7,000 STEM and related employers. Last year, STEM Ambassadors spent 250,000 hours in primary and secondary schools across the UK raising awareness of the diverse range of STEM careers and enabling young people to explore and develop their skills and interest in STEM. Approximately 48% of Ambassadors are women and 17% are from minority ethnic backgrounds, providing young people with a variety of role models.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to funding (1) infrastructure, (2) guidance, and (3) training for education providers and potential partners, to support enrichment activity in schools.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The department is committed to ensuring young people have access to high-quality extra-curricular opportunities. The department understands these are an important part of a rich educational experience and can bring wider benefits to young people's mental health, confidence, social skills and general wellbeing.
The department supports a range of initiatives to expand access to high-quality extra-curricular activities. For example, the department is investing over £200 million a year in our Holiday Activities and Food programme and working with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to offer the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to all state secondary schools in England. This is in addition to working with DCMS to help schools ensure their pupils are getting the most out of the National Youth Guarantee, which is designed to ensure young people are given access to more activities, trips away from home and volunteering opportunities.
The department’s wider approach to enrichment is informed by the view that schools are best placed to understand and meet the needs of their pupils and should have flexibility to decide what range of extra-curricular activities to offer. Both pupil premium and recovery premium can be used to fund enrichment activities and in March 2022 the department updated the guidance to make this clearer to schools.
The department has also started to work alongside DCMS on the Enrichment Partnerships Pilot (EPP), which aims to improve the enrichment offer of up to 200 secondary schools in Education Investment Areas. The EPP has been awarded £3.381 million from HM Treasury’s Shared Outcomes Fund and will test whether greater coordination locally can enhance school enrichment offers and remove barriers to participation, create efficiencies (reducing the burden on school staff resources) and unlock existing funding and provision. The Centre of Learning run by our joint delivery partners, the National Citizen Service Trust and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, will also develop best practice guidance and resources. This will support relevant, high-quality enrichment coordination for the pilot, which is subsequently intended to support schools and improve access to and participation in enrichment in the future.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered the need for all students to have diverse access to opportunities for enrichment as part of the development of the new Advanced British Standard.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Employability, enrichment and pastoral activities (EEP) are an important part of current post-16 study programmes as they prepare students for future education, employment and life.
On 4 October 2023, the Prime Minister announced plans to introduce the Advanced British Standard (ABS) for 16 to 19 year-olds in England over the next decade. Under the new ABS, the department proposes that EEP activities should continue, to enrich students’ wider personal development, health and wellbeing as well as prepare them for future study and work. The department anticipates that most students will participate in 150 hours of EEP activities over the course of their ABS programme.
The department understands that effective EEP is important for all students regardless of what level they are studying at, which is why the department is currently seeking views on this via the ABS consultation which launched on 14 December 2023 and is due to close on 20 March 2024.