Asked by: Baroness Sherlock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many students received a Panjabi GCSE in each of the past 10 years; and of those, how many were taught Panjabi in state schools.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The number of students who entered and received a Panjabi GCSE (9-1/A*-G) at the end of key stage 4 for the last 10 years in all schools and all state-funded schools can be found in the attached table.
Asked by: Baroness Sherlock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what data they collect on the religious identity of children who are bullied in schools.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold information on the religious identity of children that are bullied in schools.
The ‘National behaviour survey’ publishes data on a number of behaviour related topics, including bullying. The latest report, based on data from 2021/22, stated that 3% of those surveyed, who said they had been bullied, said it was due to their religion or belief. The ‘National behaviour survey’ can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64809defb32b9e0012a963ce/National_Behaviour_Survey_academic_year_2021_to_22_report.pdf.
The department is providing over £3 million of funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2024, to five anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying. This includes projects targeting bullying of particular groups, such as those who are victims of hate-related bullying.
Asked by: Baroness Sherlock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Ofsted Annual Report 2022/23: education, children’s services and skills, published on 23 November 2023, what plans they have to implement the recommendation contained in that report to improve the provision of high-quality professional development for teachers of religious education.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Religious Education (RE) is an important part of a school’s curriculum and can contribute to a young person’s personal, social, and academic development. When taught well, the subject develops children’s knowledge of British values and traditions, helps them to better understand those of other countries, and refines pupils’ ability to construct well-informed, balanced and structured arguments. This is why is it remains a compulsory subject in all state-funded schools in England for each pupil up to the age of 18.
Department officials read Ofsted’s 2023 report with interest. The department is already providing support for RE teaching in a number of ways. The department is offering a £10,000 bursary for RE trainee teachers starting Initial Teacher Training courses in the 2024/25 academic year. It has published this information on the ‘Get Into Teaching’ website and will be marketing the offer to prospective teachers through other channels.
To support teachers when they are in post, and to ensure high standards and consistency of teaching, RE resources will be procured by Oak National Academy during the second tranche of its work. Oak will work closely with the sector and utilise sector experience when producing new materials for RE. This will ensure that high-quality lessons are available nationwide, benefitting both teachers and pupils, should schools opt to use them. Oak RE resources will be available for teaching from autumn 2024, with full packages expected to be available by autumn 2025.
The department also continues to offer eight week subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses in the 2022/23 academic year for candidates who have the potential to become outstanding teachers but need to increase their subject knowledge. The eight week SKE course, available in religious education, can be undertaken on a full time or part time basis, but must be completed before qualified teacher status can be recommended and awarded. Eligible candidates could be entitled to a SKE bursary of £175 per week to support them financially whilst completing their SKE course.
More information on these courses is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/subject-knowledge-enhancement-an-introduction.
Asked by: Baroness Sherlock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Ofsted Annual Report 2022/23: education, children’s services and skills, published on 23 November 2023, what plans they have to implement the recommendation contained in that report to ensure curriculum publishers identify clearly what pupils will learn and when, in relation to religious education.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Religious Education (RE) is an important part of a school’s curriculum and can contribute to a young person’s personal, social and academic development. When taught well, the subject develops children’s knowledge of British values and traditions, helps them to better understand those of other countries, and refines pupils’ ability to construct well-informed, balanced, and structured arguments. This is why it remains a compulsory subject in all state-funded schools in England for each pupil up to the age of 18.
Whilst the department read Ofsted’s recommendations with interest, the department believes that RE curricula should continue to be designed at a local level, whether that is through locally agreed syllabuses or by individual schools and academy trusts developing their own curricula. It will remain for individual schools to plan, organise, and deliver their curriculum, so that local demographics can be appropriately accounted for.
In maintained schools without a religious designation, Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education (SACRE) should monitor the provision and quality of RE taught according to its agreed syllabus, together with the overall effectiveness of the syllabus.
Academies are accountable for the quality of their curricular provision, including for RE. They can choose to adopt a locally agreed syllabus or develop its own, as long as it meets the requirements of a locally agreed syllabus.
The department does, however, welcome the work that the Religious Education Council (REC) has done to assist curriculum developers by publishing its National Content Standard for RE in England. This is not in itself a curriculum but, without specifying precisely the content that schools should teach, provides a non-statutory benchmark against which syllabus providers and others could choose to inform and evaluate their work.
To support teachers, and to ensure high standards and consistency in RE teaching, resources will be procured by Oak National Academy during the second tranche of its work. Oak will work closely with the sector and utilise sector experience when producing new materials for RE. This will ensure that high-quality lessons are available nationwide, benefitting both teachers and pupils, should schools opt to use them. Oak RE resources will be available for teaching from autumn 2024, with full packages expected to be available by autumn 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Sherlock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Ofsted Annual Report 2022/23: education, children’s services and skills, published on 23 November 2023, what plans they have to implement the recommendation contained in that report to clarify expectations about the level of religious education provision in schools.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Religious Education (RE) is an important part of a school’s curriculum and can contribute to a young person’s personal, social and academic development. When taught well, the subject develops children’s knowledge of British values and traditions, helps them to better understand those of other countries, and refines pupils’ ability to construct well-informed, balanced, and structured arguments. This is why it remains a compulsory subject in all state-funded schools in England for each pupil up to the age of 18.
Whilst the department read Ofsted’s recommendations with interest, the department believes that RE curricula should continue to be designed at a local level, whether that is through locally agreed syllabuses or by individual schools and academy trusts developing their own curricula. It will remain for individual schools to plan, organise, and deliver their curriculum, so that local demographics can be appropriately accounted for.
In maintained schools without a religious designation, Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education (SACRE) should monitor the provision and quality of RE taught according to its agreed syllabus, together with the overall effectiveness of the syllabus.
Academies are accountable for the quality of their curricular provision, including for RE. They can choose to adopt a locally agreed syllabus or develop its own, as long as it meets the requirements of a locally agreed syllabus.
The department does, however, welcome the work that the Religious Education Council (REC) has done to assist curriculum developers by publishing its National Content Standard for RE in England. This is not in itself a curriculum but, without specifying precisely the content that schools should teach, provides a non-statutory benchmark against which syllabus providers and others could choose to inform and evaluate their work.
To support teachers, and to ensure high standards and consistency in RE teaching, resources will be procured by Oak National Academy during the second tranche of its work. Oak will work closely with the sector and utilise sector experience when producing new materials for RE. This will ensure that high-quality lessons are available nationwide, benefitting both teachers and pupils, should schools opt to use them. Oak RE resources will be available for teaching from autumn 2024, with full packages expected to be available by autumn 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Sherlock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many workers aged 50 or over are both (1) on Government-funded retraining or reskilling programmes, and (2) in receipt of furlough payments.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The Lifetime Skills Guarantee was announced by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, in September 2020 and aims to ensure that people across the country can access the education and training they need to succeed throughout their lives. This includes a level 3 adult offer, Skills Bootcamps, a Lifelong Loan Entitlement, and wider work around improving quality and access to apprenticeships.
From this April, the level 3 adult offer will support any adult aged 24 and over who does not have an advanced technical certificate, diploma, or equivalent qualification, to access around 400 fully funded level 3 courses. This offer, a long-term commitment backed by £95 million from the National Skills Fund in year one, removes major cost barriers that have confronted adults who want to access training and progress in the labour market. Eligible adults aged 50 and over are equally able to access these qualifications and will be able to benefit significantly from this offer.
We have also introduced a series of Skills Bootcamps, starting in six local areas (West Midlands, Greater Manchester and Lancashire, Liverpool City Region, Leeds City Region, Heart of South West, and Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire). We will invest a further £43 million in the 2021/22 financial year to expand Skills Bootcamps across England. Following a competitive application, successful bids will be announced in the spring to ensure many more thousands of adults benefit from this offer.
Skills Bootcamps are there to provide in demand skills that help people to get good jobs and progress in their careers. It is vital that all eligible adults have equal opportunities to benefit from the Skills Bootcamps, including those aged 50 or over. No specific portion of funding is ring-fenced for workers aged 50 and above, but local areas and Skills Bootcamps providers target their marketing to encourage diverse participants.
Information about age of participants is collected by providers of Skills Bootcamps and will form part of our evaluation to ensure Skills Bootcamps are meeting the needs of all age groups, but figures are not yet available. The level 3 and Lifelong Loan Entitlements have not yet been introduced so there are no participant figures available. The department does not hold information on furloughed workers.
Last April the department introduced the Skills Toolkit, an online platform providing free courses to help individuals build the skills that are most sought after by employers. As of 24 January 2021, there have been an estimated 162,300 course registrations and 30,300 course completions. This data is not broken down by age or employment status.
Asked by: Baroness Sherlock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any of the funding for the Lifetime Skills Guarantee is ring-fenced for workers aged 50 or over.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The Lifetime Skills Guarantee was announced by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, in September 2020 and aims to ensure that people across the country can access the education and training they need to succeed throughout their lives. This includes a level 3 adult offer, Skills Bootcamps, a Lifelong Loan Entitlement, and wider work around improving quality and access to apprenticeships.
From this April, the level 3 adult offer will support any adult aged 24 and over who does not have an advanced technical certificate, diploma, or equivalent qualification, to access around 400 fully funded level 3 courses. This offer, a long-term commitment backed by £95 million from the National Skills Fund in year one, removes major cost barriers that have confronted adults who want to access training and progress in the labour market. Eligible adults aged 50 and over are equally able to access these qualifications and will be able to benefit significantly from this offer.
We have also introduced a series of Skills Bootcamps, starting in six local areas (West Midlands, Greater Manchester and Lancashire, Liverpool City Region, Leeds City Region, Heart of South West, and Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire). We will invest a further £43 million in the 2021/22 financial year to expand Skills Bootcamps across England. Following a competitive application, successful bids will be announced in the spring to ensure many more thousands of adults benefit from this offer.
Skills Bootcamps are there to provide in demand skills that help people to get good jobs and progress in their careers. It is vital that all eligible adults have equal opportunities to benefit from the Skills Bootcamps, including those aged 50 or over. No specific portion of funding is ring-fenced for workers aged 50 and above, but local areas and Skills Bootcamps providers target their marketing to encourage diverse participants.
Information about age of participants is collected by providers of Skills Bootcamps and will form part of our evaluation to ensure Skills Bootcamps are meeting the needs of all age groups, but figures are not yet available. The level 3 and Lifelong Loan Entitlements have not yet been introduced so there are no participant figures available. The department does not hold information on furloughed workers.
Last April the department introduced the Skills Toolkit, an online platform providing free courses to help individuals build the skills that are most sought after by employers. As of 24 January 2021, there have been an estimated 162,300 course registrations and 30,300 course completions. This data is not broken down by age or employment status.
Asked by: Baroness Sherlock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of individuals who were identified as entitled to income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) but who were moved to contributory-based ESA from Incapacity Benefit who were eligible for free school meals that they were then unable to claim as a result of that move; and what plans they have to compensate those individuals for any charges paid for such meals.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
We are working closely with officials at the Department for Work and Pensions and other government departments to understand the impact of the Employment and Support Allowance legal entitlements and administrative practice exercise and any potential issues arising from it.