Oral Answers to Questions

Bridget Phillipson Excerpts

Monday 11th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Damian Hinds]

I agree with my hon. Friend, and we will be investing over £20 million by 2020 through our teaching and leadership innovation fund. On Saturday I had the opportunity to talk about the benefits of diversity in leadership at the “Break the Cycle” event, and I take this opportunity once again to thank and pay tribute to teachers and leaders in our schools throughout the country.

[Bridget Phillipson (Houghton and Sunderland South) (Lab)]

17. Half of all secondary schools in Sunderland are judged by Ofsted to be inadequate or requiring improvement. Small-scale initiatives are always welcome, but it is clear that the issues we face are much greater. When will the Secretary of State get to grips with the deep-seated problems we face in areas like the north-east?

[Damian Hinds]

As it happens, on Thursday—in three days’ time—we have a session with Opportunity North East to look specifically at working directly with secondary schools in the north-east. The hon. Lady is right to identify that there is a particular issue in parts of the north-east, where primary schools have strong and outstanding results, as do nursery schools, but we clearly need to do more for secondary schools, which is partly what we will be looking at on Thursday.

Oral Answers to Questions

Bridget Phillipson Excerpts

Monday 10th September 2018 Commons Chamber

[Damian Hinds]

We all know how important it is that young people are given the knowledge to be healthy, happy and safe. That is why, for the first time, all state-funded schools will be required to teach health education. The draft statutory guidance includes content on first aid. I commend my hon. Friend and others in this House who have campaigned on this issue very consistently.

[Bridget Phillipson (Houghton and Sunderland South) (Lab)]

T3. In the north-east, as class sizes continue to grow, the number of teachers has fallen by almost 500 in the past year alone. When can we expect to see Ministers getting to grips with the growing crisis that we face in teacher retention?

Oral Answers to Questions

Bridget Phillipson Excerpts

Monday 14th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Nadhim Zahawi)]

That is a really important question. We are piloting new approaches to mental health assessment for children in care. The pilots seek to address concerns about the current mental health assessment for children and young people entering care, and to build on the recommendations of the expert working group on mental health.

[Bridget Phillipson (Houghton and Sunderland South) (Lab)]

T3. Almost one in three children at secondary school in the north-east attends a school judged to be “inadequate” or “needing improvement”. Rather than chucking money at grammar schools, when can we expect to see action to drive up standards and tackle education inequality in regions such as the north-east?

[Damian Hinds]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right to identify the challenge in the north-east—a region with particularly strong primary schools and early years settings, but with more of a challenge at secondary school. She is absolutely right that we need to work doubly hard, and I look forward to working with her.