Examinations: A-level and GCSE

Baroness Massey of Darwen Excerpts

Tuesday 15th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, the alteration to the spoken element of foreign language examinations is only for one year; it has not been scrapped. There will be a change to the assessment, but that will be done during the course of study, rather than in a formal speaking exam, which is similar to how English language is conducted in our schools. That was done to reduce the pressure on students and to free up some teaching time.

[Baroness Massey of Darwen (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, none of us wants a repeat of the confusions in this year’s exam system, especially young people, who are very articulate about their concerns. What has the department learned from this year’s problems? The Minister said that it wants to consult and to hear suggestions. Here is one: will it consult young people on the fiasco that we have had?

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, in relation to next year’s exams, the department is just about to embark on a whole programme of engagement with stakeholders. I will obviously take back the noble Baroness’s suggestion that we consult the widest possible group of people so that we can learn from what happened last year and ensure the position for 2021.

Covid-19: Social Mobility

Baroness Massey of Darwen Excerpts

Tuesday 21st July 2020 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Massey of Darwen]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social mobility.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Department for International Trade (Baroness Berridge) (Con)]

My Lords, the Government are committed to levelling up opportunity across the country. The £1 billion catch-up package announced on 19 June is designed to tackle the impact of lost teaching time. Included in the package is a national tutoring programme worth £350 million to increase access to high-quality tuition for the most disadvantaged young people. This will help to accelerate their progress and prevent any widening of the gap between them and their more affluent peers.

[Baroness Massey of Darwen (Lab) [V]]

I thank the Minister for her response. She will be aware that, before Covid-19, research by the Social Mobility Commission and others pointed out the barriers to social mobility in Britain. Covid-19 has now resulted in school closures and greater unemployment, as well as other damaging effects. Why does the Minister think that measures aimed at improving social mobility in the past have failed and how will the Government deal with the extra challenges of Covid-19?

[Baroness Berridge]

My Lords, it is obviously not yet possible to know the full impact of the pandemic on social mobility in this country. However, since 2010, the attainment gap between pupils on free school meals and their counterparts has been narrowing. The £1 billion catch-up package is significant and, as I said, will hopefully help to ensure that we do not see the gap widening.

Education Settings: Autumn Opening

Baroness Massey of Darwen Excerpts

Wednesday 8th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Berridge]

I am happy to clarify for the noble Baroness that what she outlines for the teaching of modern languages at key stage 2 is not correct. The guidance states that all state-funded schools are expected to teach all subjects from the start of the autumn term but to make use of

“flexibilities to create time to cover the most important missed content”.

I think the misnomer has been created by the fact that the guidance has a list of subjects, which says

“including sciences, humanities, the arts, physical education”,

but does not include modern languages. However, that was an illustrative list of a broad curriculum at key stages 1 and 2 and is not intended to be read as the only subjects or domain to be taught from ages five to 11. The Government expect maintained primary schools to continue to teach languages during key stage 2, but also to use those flexibilities. I hope this clarifies the matter for the noble Baroness.

[Baroness Massey of Darwen (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, some children who have been out of school for such a long time will need extra support to help them reintegrate and perform well. Professionals believe that demands on children’s services, including child mental health services, will be huge and expanded. Will the Government provide extra resources for such services to support schools and children, and if so, how?

[Baroness Berridge]

The guidance makes clear that mental health, well-being and adjusting children back into the school environment are important priorities. Mental health is key to that. In relationships, health and sex education, there is a particular module to assist teachers to teach about mental health, and £5 million has been dedicated to the mental health coronavirus fund, in addition to over 50 mental health support teams that are the beginning of rolling that out to a substantial proportion of our schools.

Education Settings: Wider Opening

Baroness Massey of Darwen Excerpts

Thursday 11th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Massey of Darwen (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, the chair of the Education Select Committee said this week that 70,000 disadvantaged children are not working at home and have no access to the internet. Will the Government ensure that all children entitled to free school meals be guaranteed internet access, immediately?

[Baroness Berridge]

My Lords, there are indeed 1.3 million children currently entitled to free school meals. We have offered that provision over both the half-term and Easter holidays since schools closed. As I have outlined, over 200,000 devices have been purchased and delivery will be made by the end of June.

Free School Meal Vouchers Scheme

Baroness Massey of Darwen Excerpts

Wednesday 10th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Berridge [V]]

My Lords, the provision through the free school meal vouchers system is at a higher rate than what is normally provided to schools to provide free school meals, due to the recognition that families do not have the economies of scale of schools. On additional support to families, the noble Baroness will probably be aware that during this period there has also been an uplift to universal credit and to working tax credits, such that there is an advantage of just over £1,000 a year, which affects 4 million households. This is considerable support to families who, as we recognise, are struggling to feed their children.

[Baroness Massey of Darwen (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, we know that poverty leads to food insecurity for children. Last week the Trussell Trust reported an 89% increase in the need for emergency food parcels in April. Who will make up for this loss of vouchers for free school meals? The UK has signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Do the Government now recognise their responsibility to the welfare of children, especially vulnerable ones?

[Baroness Berridge [V]]

My Lords, the Government clearly recognise our responsibility to vulnerable children and have enabled them to attend school during this outbreak. The vouchers system we outlined is in addition to the funding going to schools to provide free school meals on the premises. In addition, there has been £16 million through DCMS and Defra for food support through charities such as FareShare and WRAP. There has been considerable support to enable food provision for those in need.

Covid-19: Schools

Baroness Massey of Darwen Excerpts

Wednesday 20th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Berridge]

My Lords, this two- to three-week period is vital for schools to plan for reopening, but the tracking of the disease in the population will not be static during this period. My noble friend is correct that there is a notice period in the road map by which the Government will tell schools the position of the scientific data at that point.

[Baroness Massey of Darwen (Lab)]

My Lords, of course I wish for schools to open, but I was in a meeting yesterday where I met the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy on Covid-19. He emphasised that the seriousness of this virus cannot be underestimated, nor can its uncertainty. He said that we should have “a comprehensive defence everywhere”. Can the Government guarantee that every school that opens will have a full operational defence plan that protects staff and children?

[Baroness Berridge]

My Lords, I am grateful for the noble Baroness’s acknowledgement that the population is having to deal with a time of great uncertainty around the disease. The department has published detailed guidance, including a planning framework for schools to be able to reopen. If they enact the hierarchy of controls when they reopen we can substantially reduce transmission of the disease in those settings.

Schools: Relationships and Sex Education

Baroness Massey of Darwen Excerpts

Tuesday 12th May 2020 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Massey of Darwen]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the ability of schools to deliver the new compulsory elements of relationships and sex education curriculum from September 2020.

The Question was considered in a Virtual Proceeding via video call.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Department for International Trade (Baroness Berridge) (Con)]

My Lords, the Government have worked extensively with schools, teachers and experts throughout the development of these subjects. This has included working with over 1,500 early adopter schools to support their journey, learn lessons and share good practice. The department also conducted an impact assessment as part of the consultation. We are committed to supporting teachers, which is why we are investing in a programme of support featuring training materials, case studies and support to access resources.

[Baroness Massey of Darwen (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for that reply. Does she agree that relationships and sex education fosters self-esteem and social skills in children and young people as well as enhancing academic performance, and that those skills will be important when pupils return to school after a long absence? I welcome the Government’s decision to include RSE in the compulsory curriculum, but how is this commitment supported precisely with resources and training? Could she give an example?

[Baroness Berridge]

My Lords, I agree with the noble Baroness that health and relationships education will be an essential part of re-socialising children as more go back to school from 1 June. A central school support package will be on offer, which will include training materials—both online and face-to-face where appropriate—and will be based on the “train the trainer” model. Schools can also access additional training support if they need particular help.

Children in Care

Baroness Massey of Darwen Excerpts

Thursday 30th April 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Berridge]

I assure noble Lords that these regulations were made in close consultation with local authorities about the situation they face. We have a partnership of 17 local authorities—Partners in Practice —which we use to ensure that best practice is spread across the country.

[Baroness Massey of Darwen (Lab)]

What consultation on the proposed changes actually took place in March with our excellent children’s voluntary sector? I know that the Explanatory Memorandum to Statutory Instrument 445 stated that the department needed to consult with the sector in order to understand any difficulties. I am assured that this consultation never took place. Why not?

[Baroness Berridge]

My Lords, unfortunately there was not the usual 12-week consultation period due to the particular circumstances that we were in. The department consulted the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, as I have said, and local authorities’ principal social workers. There is always engagement with stakeholders. Ofsted was also closely involved, because routine inspections of local authorities have been paused but risk-based inspections will continue. They are an important safeguard for local authority practice during this period.

Educational Opportunities: Working Classes

Baroness Massey of Darwen Excerpts

Thursday 5th March 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Massey of Darwen (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lady Morris for initiating this debate and for covering important issues with her usual expertise and dedication. It is a pleasure to see the noble Baroness, Lady Berridge, responding. Her concern for children goes back a long way.

The economist Esther Duflo said in a recent interview:

“What people are mobilised by is dignity. They want status and a place in life.”


I immediately related this to this debate. How much dignity and status do many schools give to working-class children? What place in life do they envisage for working-class children? We know the statistics on the educational achievement of working-class children. It has always been the same. It should have improved. Why has it not?

I was a working-class child. Many parents in the area where I grew up worked in the cotton mills, as did mine. I passed the 11-plus and went on to grammar school. Most of my cohort did not. There were three streams: A, B and C. We had no education on social skills nor any discussion of growing up and relationships, and no discussion of our hopes and fears. Few pupils went on to higher education. I had inspiration from two teachers; I was good at sport, and those teachers encouraged me to go on to university. I became a teacher myself. I was lucky, but luck is accident rather than design, and our education system should surely be more robust than that if working-class children are to succeed. Of course early intervention is important, but some children need consistent intervention, especially in adolescence.

I shall refer to two examples of ambition for working-class children. In my home county of Lancashire, the new executive director for children’s services, Edwina Grant, and Matt Lees, a consultant from East Learning, are working together to change poor outcomes. The area is the most deprived of the English county council areas, with a resultant impact on children’s readiness to learn and their life chances; at the end of primary school, the combined score for reading, writing and maths was below the national average in 2019, and the number of young people excluded from school has been double the national figure since 2015. With a new approach, Lancashire has recognised and researched missing data to show what is needed at community level, moving away from a single solution for schools. It is helping to identify what each community needs, linking action to partnerships with the NHS and other services. Data is collated and shared with young people to stimulate discussion on needs and to identify opportunities for change.

A different example of identifying need and improving the chances of working-class children is the Amos Bursary, set up 10 years ago to help the outcomes for black boys. Each boy in the scheme has a personal, academic and social mentor, with the intention of creating high achievers, role models and leaders. It works: 80% of the students attend Russell group universities and some Oxbridge, studying subjects from medicine to law and aerospace. Some 96% gain 2.1 degrees. One young man, brought up in a single-parent family in east London, recently graduated in anthropology at University College London and was a visiting undergraduate at Harvard. He has been selected, under intense competition, to be an intern on a Silicon Valley scheme aimed at creating the technical entrepreneurs of the future. I take great pride in being a patron of the Amos Bursary.

We need to look at new methods of delivery for children, especially working-class children. Will the Government seek out examples of good practice in education for mobility, of which we have heard many today? This might inform us when it comes to how our policies should be formed and local practice. Will the Minister respond in this fashion? What can we do?