Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the development of football for girls in schools and colleges.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not routinely collect data about which sports pupils participate in during the school day. It is up to schools to decide which sports they offer so that they can meet the needs of their pupils. Factors influencing that decision include the spaces available.
The Active Lives Children and Young People Survey Data for the 2022/23 academic year, which was published by Sport England on 7 December 2023, showed a significant increase of four percentage points of girls in Years 1-11 playing football over the last week, compared to the baseline data collected in the 2017/18 academic year.
In December 2023, the government responded to Karen Carney’s 2023 review into the future of women’s football in support of all 10 of the strategic recommendations from the review, further demonstrating the government’s continued commitment to supporting women’s sport at every opportunity. The department is delivering on its commitments around equal access to school sports for girls, and is working with other key organisations to ensure implementation.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of mental health support for students in (1) further, and (2) higher, education in England to deal with issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
Protecting students’ mental health and wellbeing is a priority. This government is doing everything it can to promote good mental health in further and higher education settings.
Many further and higher education providers are bolstering their existing mental health services and adapting delivery to means other than face-to-face. Providers have responded quickly to transform mental health and wellbeing services, showing resourcefulness and there are many examples of good practice.
In addition, the Office for Students (OfS) recently announced the Student Space platform, which seeks to bridge gaps in mental health support for students arising from this unprecedented situation. Funded with up to £3 million by the OfS and led by Student Minds, it is designed to work alongside existing mental health services.
During Mental Health Awareness Week, the government announced £4.2 million for mental health charities, including Young Minds, the Samaritans and Bipolar UK. This is in addition to the £5 million Coronavirus Mental Health Response Fund for mental health charities administered by Mind.
The government has also worked closely with the OfS to help clarify that higher education providers can draw upon existing student premium funding to increase their hardship funds and support disadvantaged students impacted by COVID-19. Providers are able to use the funding, worth around £23 million per month for April, May, June and July, towards student hardship funds, including mental health support.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what exact metrics will be used to determine whether schools need to shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic, following their partial reopening to all pupils.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
To help schools manage wider opening we have published guidance for schools including how any suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 should be handled:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings.
Where a child or staff member tests positive, the rest of their class or ‘bubble’ should be sent home and advised to self-isolate for 14 days. The other household members of that wider class or group do not need to self-isolate unless the child, young person or staff member they live with in that group subsequently develops symptoms. Closure of the school itself will generally not be necessary where the school is observing guidance on infection prevention and control which will reduce the risk of transmission.
As part of the national test and trace programme, if other cases are detected within the cohort or school, a Public Health England local health protection team will conduct a rapid investigation and will advise the school on the most appropriate action to take.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are giving to increase the opportunities for children to play cricket in schools.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The physical education (PE) national curriculum is designed to ensure that all pupils develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities, are physically active for sustained periods of time, and lead healthy and active lives.
State schools are free to organise and deliver a diverse and challenging PE curriculum that suits the needs of all their pupils. Cricket is specifically listed as an example of a sport that can provide important elements of the PE national curriculum programme of study in key stages 2 to 4.
The School Sport and Activity Action Plan sets out how the Department for Education, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and the Department for Health and Social Care are collaborating at national level. It will ensure that sport and physical activity are an integral part of both the school day and after-school activities, so that all children have the opportunity to take part in at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. This includes working with sports governing bodies, including the England and Wales Cricket Board, in developing the proposals. As an example of the range of excellent sporting opportunities available to schools, the action plan highlights the England and Wales Cricket Board’s All Stars programme for primary school children.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action will be taken against companies that fail to comply with the gender pay gap reporting rules.
Answered by Lord Nash
Employers with over 250 employees have 12 months to publish the required information from the relevant commencement date: 31 March for the public sector and 6 April for the private, voluntary and charity sectors.
The Government Equalities Office will proactively monitor the levels of compliance with the new regulations, and will continue to work closely with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to ensure that employers in scope fulfil their obligations to increase transparency around gender pay differences. Failure to comply would be unlawful and fall within the existing enforcement powers of the EHRC under the Equality Act 2006.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of GCSE and A-level exams that were changed after challenges this summer.
Answered by Lord Nash
This is a matter for the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) and I have asked its Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey to write directly to the noble Baroness. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Lords Library.