Education and Skills Reform
Debate between Baroness Smith of Malvern and Lord Weir of Ballyholme(2Â weeks, 1Â day ago)
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Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)
Of course, we will keep the business environment under review to ensure that it provides as many opportunities as possible. I note that, in his interim review, Alan Milburn argued that it was not, for example, changes to national insurance or to the national minimum wage that have caused the numbers of young people to be out of work. The biggest increase in those numbers, of course, happened in the two years in the run-up to the last general election.
Lord Weir of Ballyholme (DUP)
My Lords, I refer to my entry in the register of interests as regards City of London College. Within the Statement, the Government commit to transferring responsibility and finance for 16 to 19 year-olds to mayors and, presumably, to strategic authorities, but, to date, local authorities have sometimes been quite inconsistent in their support and taken a very differential approach, for instance, to young people who are in danger of becoming NEETs but do not reach the level of an EHCP. How do the Government intend to move forward while ensuring that there is consistent and full access to pathways for all pupils and that equal opportunities are provided for every young person, irrespective of where they come from?
Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)
If I am completely frank, this is one of the big challenges of the very welcome devolution that this Government under the new Prime Minister are engaged in. We are discussing with mayors and others the relationship between national entitlements and the flexibility, for example, to bring in work experience opportunities, to work with local employers and to tailor education so that it suits the types of work and opportunities that might be available to young people locally, while ensuring there is equality of access. A key objective of this Government is to close, not to worsen, the disadvantage gap. As we develop the devolution proposals, we will keep thinking hard about how we can ensure that that happens.
Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life
Debate between Baroness Smith of Malvern and Lord Weir of Ballyholme(1Â year, 2Â months ago)
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Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)
My noble friend is right about the investment in special educational needs, and disabilities in particular. I know she will recognise the additional ÂŁ1 billion into high-needs funding that this Government have invested already; the ÂŁ740 million-worth of capital that is going into creating extra spaces, particularly in mainstream schools, for the inclusive resource centre provision that enables children to remain in those mainstream schools; and the investment in more training for teachers.
Lord Weir of Ballyholme (DUP)
My Lords, I welcome the Statement. The Government are right to identify education as being the great life changer for many young people. It is right to place emphasis on the power of development through reading and to focus on early intervention. It is often the case—sometimes Governments can be reluctant on this—that the dividends of that early intervention may be decades down the line, but that is all the more reason for ensuring that it happens.
It is often the case that many children who are in greatest need of that early intervention come from families who are disengaged from formal education—sometimes perhaps because of parental bad experience with formal education themselves—who are slightly disengaged from society as a whole or from the local community, or who are disengaged from involvement with government agencies. Can the Minister outline the Government’s strategy to ensure that those who might be described as hard-to-reach children are able to benefit from early intervention and are not left behind?
Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)
As I was suggesting, in some of the initiatives we have focused on ensuring that, for example, the additional financial incentive for early years educators will start in the most disadvantaged areas, to make sure that the areas where children most need support are the areas where we are improving and increasing the numbers of teachers who can teach there. Lots of children will benefit from the extension of evidence-based interventions to support early maths, literacy and language skills. From next year, we will provide additional funding to extend the early years pupil premium in areas most in need, ensuring that children most at risk of falling behind receive high-quality, evidence-informed support.