Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to concerns expressed by the president of the British Rabbinical Union’s on the potential impact of clauses 25 and 26 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill on Jewish and other religious education.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The department respects the work of yeshivas and other institutions in providing education to the Jewish community.
Parents are legally allowed to educate their children at home, providing this education is suitable. However, the department is aware of rising numbers of children not on a school roll due to them either being home educated, attending full-time non-school alternative provision or missing education completely, and we are concerned that some of these children may not be receiving a suitable education or known to the local authority at all.
As part of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, the government will introduce compulsory Children Not in School registers in every local authority in England. These measures will help authorities to identify children that need support and to take prompt, appropriate action when needed.
The government’s proposal to require registration with the local authority will not interfere with parents’ right to educate their child in a way and with methods as they think best and appropriate, provided that the education being received by the child is suitable.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish the results of the Department for Education’s consultation on Guidance for Schools and Colleges: Gender Questioning Children, opened on 19 December 2023; and what is their response to the consultation.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The department is currently reviewing the draft non-statutory guidance for schools and colleges on gender questioning children, in addition to reviewing the statutory guidance on relationships, sex and health education.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has been clear that children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of this guidance and, as such, the government is looking carefully at the consultation responses, discussing with stakeholders and considering the relevant evidence, including the Cass Review, before setting out next steps.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to take the recommendations of the Cass Review into account when updating their guidance for schools and colleges on gender questioning children.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The department is currently reviewing the draft non-statutory guidance for schools and colleges on gender questioning children, in addition to reviewing the statutory guidance on relationships, sex and health education.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has been clear that children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of this guidance and, as such, the government is looking carefully at the consultation responses, discussing with stakeholders and considering the relevant evidence, including the Cass Review, before setting out next steps.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of support for children and young people with Tourette’s Syndrome as outlined in the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and Alternative Provision Green Paper published in 2022, and how is that measured.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Through delivery of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, which was published in March 2023, the department is establishing a single national system that delivers for every child and young person with SEND, so that they enjoy their childhood, achieve good outcomes, and are well prepared for adulthood and employment.
Pupils at school with medical conditions should be properly supported so that they have full access to education. In 2014, the government introduced a new duty on schools to support pupils with all medical conditions and has published statutory guidance intended to help governing bodies meet their legal responsibilities. This guidance sets out the arrangements they will be expected to make based on good practice. Schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with medical conditions and should have policies and processes in place to ensure these can be well managed.
Tourette's is a complex neurological condition and children and young people with it may also have other learning difficulties. As a result, schools must use their best endeavours to make sure a child or young person gets the special educational provision they need, which includes monitoring the progress of pupils regularly and putting support in place where needed, such as arranging diagnostic tests where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in determining whether suicide and self-harm prevention will be included in their guidance on relationships, sex and health education as an explicit part of the curriculum, in particular to support young people to spot the signs of, and seek appropriate support for, cases of suicidal ideation.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The department is currently reviewing the Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) statutory guidance. In July 2023, as part of the review, the department held a workshop with teachers. The former Minister for Schools also chaired roundtable meetings with a panel of experts and with families to explore the inclusion of suicide prevention in the curriculum.
The department will publish an amended draft of the statutory guidance for consultation at the earliest opportunity. The department will consider responses carefully before publishing the final revised guidance in 2024.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to legislate to give parents and guardians the right to view all material used in teaching Relationship, Health and Sex Education curricula, including lessons and activities delivered by external contractors or partners.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The existing statutory guidance for relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) already places clear responsibilities on schools to engage parents about the content of lessons so that they know what their children are being taught. The department is clear that parents have a right to view teaching materials and that copyright law does not prevent a parent from viewing external resources on school premises. The department will be writing to schools shortly to confirm this position and that schools should not use external providers who would restrict their ability to do this.
On 8 March, the Prime Minister announced that the government had brought forward the review of the RSHE statutory guidance. This will enable the Department to consider the evidence and decide whether the provisions in the guidance need to be strengthened further to ensure that schools are fully transparent with parents.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they provide to schools and Local Education Authorities on their application of the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and in particular with regard to any parent's request to access information on Relationships and Sex Education curricula delivered by external contractors and providers.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Schools are responsible for what is taught in Relationship, Health and Sex Education (RHSE) lessons, including anything taught by external providers. Schools should agree reasonable requests from parents to view curriculum materials. We would expect schools to avoid entering into any agreement that seeks to prevent them from ensuring parents can be made properly aware of the materials that are being used to teach their children. The department will soon be writing to schools to clarify this.
Regarding Government providing advice on the application of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000, local authorities and schools are public authorities in their own right for the purposes of the FOIA. This means that they must make their own decisions on how they should respond to specific FOIs they receive, including any from parents requesting access to information on Relationships and Sex Education curricula delivered by external contractors and providers. Accordingly, the department does not advise schools or local authorities on the responses that they should provide to such requests.
The Information Commissioner’s Office makes guidance on the application of the FOIA available to all public authorities. This guidance is available at: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-freedom-of-information/.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to assist Peterborough City Council in improving educational attainment in primary schools; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Regional Schools Commissioner is working collaboratively with Peterborough City Council to identify areas for improvement in Peterborough primary schools. The Department is currently intervening in those primary schools with unacceptably low results this summer to ensure improved outcomes in 2017. We are encouraging Good and Outstanding schools to set up their own Multi Academy Trust to increase capacity in a school-led system. In addition, we are bringing in high quality academy sponsors from other parts of the country to support struggling schools.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve teacher recruitment in local education authority areas with poor educational attainment; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is committed to achieving educational excellence everywhere so that children in every part of the country, regardless of their background and circumstances, have access to an outstanding education.
High-quality teachers are central to that ambition, and we have recently announced the establishment of a new National Teaching Service (NTS) that will second outstanding teachers and middle leaders into the schools that most need support, particularly in areas of the country that find it hardest to retain and recruit good teachers. Our ambition is that by 2020 there will be 1,500 NTS teachers/middle leaders in underperforming schools in areas of the country facing particular challenges in terms of teacher quality and recruitment. The NTS will begin with a pilot of 100 outstanding teachers and middle leaders in the North West from September 2016. Following the pilot the national programme will be rolled out from September 2017 where it will be extended into other regions.
We are also increasing the number of high-achieving graduates teaching in disadvantaged schools by supporting the geographical expansion of Teach First into every region of England. This gives Teach First the scope to reach 90 per cent of eligible schools by 2016, boosting the Government’s commitment to recruit more top teachers throughout England, including in more rural, coastal and disadvantaged areas. We are continuing to increase the proportion of initial teacher training that is led by schools, and our School Direct programme is giving more head teachers the ability to select, train and employ the teachers they need in their local areas.
The pay reforms that we have introduced since September 2013 give schools greater autonomy and more freedom to decide how much they pay teachers and how quickly pay progresses. Schools may also choose to use their pupil premium funding to attract or retain the best teachers. This increased flexibility gives schools in disadvantaged areas more scope to attract and recruit the high quality teachers that they need to deliver outstanding education in the most challenging circumstances.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to review the governance of first wave academies; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The governance arrangements for all academies are overseen by the Education Funding Agency and are based on ensuring compliance with their funding agreement and their duties as charitable companies. The department updates its requirements in relation to academies’ governance regularly through the Academies Financial Handbook with which all academies are required, by their funding agreement, to comply.