Children in Need

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Monday 17th July 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I had better write to my noble friend on the definition of “children in need” as it is quite long and I do not want to take up noble Lords’ time. However, it should apply to all children equally.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, may I ask the noble Lord to go back to the answer that he gave on local authority funding? He made the assertion that it was clear that local authorities were making this issue a priority as they were spending more money on it. That may or may not be true, but what is important is how many children they are having to spend the money on. Can he tell the House what the increase was in numbers of children in care or needing local authority support over that period?

[Lord Nash]

The noble Baroness raises a very good point. The number of children in need during that period remained fairly constant. We are doing a great deal of work reforming social care to try to ensure that the money is better spent.

Education: English Baccalaureate

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Monday 3rd July 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I refer to my previous remarks about the take-up of computer science and the dramatic increase in the number of pupils taking IT. Of course, we must always remember the very low base that we had in 2010 when only one in five pupils was taking a core suite of academic subjects, which we know are so essential particularly for those from a disadvantaged background. I think that we should all be extremely pleased that we have actually doubled the percentage, which is rendering our education provision much more fit for pupils, particularly for pupils from a disadvantaged background.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, can the Minister please explain the remarks he made in answer to the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty? I believe he said that the loss of entries into the creative subjects is more than made up for by an increased number of entries for IT and computer science. Can he explain in what way those things compensate for one another?

[Lord Nash]

Numerically. I think we all know that the quality of some of these subjects was not what it might be, and that quite a few people were taking some of them not because they suited them but because they were easier. Of course all schools teach many of these subjects, although it may not necessarily lead to exams, and of course all schools have to provide a broad and balanced curriculum—something which the new chief inspector seems to be particularly focused on, which I am very pleased to see.

National Funding Formulae for Schools and High Needs

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Wednesday 14th December 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I am very grateful to the noble Lord for the sense of realism that he brings to the debate. I entirely agree with the point about focusing on areas with financial need; that is why we have developed these opportunity areas, and our regional schools commissioners are particularly focused on areas, many of which are up north, where a particular improvement in education is required.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, the Minister in his reply to the noble Lord, Lord Storey, gave a rather perfunctory response, if I can be forgiven for saying so, to his question about differential statements at different stages in the educational system. Speaking personally, I have not yet fully understood the rationale behind this. Could he give us a little more clarity on that, please?

[Lord Nash]

I invite the noble Baroness to submit any thoughts to the consultation process. As I say, the details of the impact that the formula will have on all schools one by one will be available later today and all schools can look at it, but the net effect is that most schools will have a gain and none will lose more than 3%. As I said, small rural schools will gain on average over 5%, and they are the sort of schools that particularly struggle with some of the issues that have been mentioned.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Nash]

It will be entirely possible for anybody to make any representations in the consultation, and maybe the noble Baroness would like to do so in that respect.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall]

My Lords, I am sorry to take the time of the House, but I am not sure that I made myself clear with my first question. It appeared to me, from what the Minister said in the Statement, that he was suggesting—indeed, he confirmed it to the noble Lord, Lord Storey—that the amount of money per pupil would be different for children at an early stage in the education cycle, with smaller amounts being available for nursery school children, for example, to that available for pupils in sixth form. Given the amount of attention given by research lately to the importance of early years education, that seems an extraordinarily surprising decision for the Government to have taken. Could the Minister help us to understand it a bit better?

[Lord Nash]

We take the view that there are additional costs in secondary over primary and that they increase as one moves from key stage 3 to key stage 4. There will be three bands: key stages 1 and 2; key stage 3; and key stage 4.

Grammar Schools

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Wednesday 7th September 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

My noble friend makes an extremely good point. I assure him that that is in the system.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, would the Minister agree that one of the most pernicious things about the way grammar schools work where they are still available is that the selection system allows an extraordinary industry in coaching and tutoring, which is available only to people who can afford to pay for it? Therefore, the social mobility that grammar schools allegedly provides is provided to a very small minority of people, not only in numbers of places but in types of people.

[Lord Nash]

As always, the noble Baroness makes a very good point, relating to coaching for tests. We are working with the Grammar School Heads Association to see whether we can develop tests that are much less susceptible to coaching. Some 66 grammar schools now prioritise free school meals applications.

Independent Schools: Teacher Training

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Wednesday 7th September 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I agree with the noble Lord. Indeed, Andrew Carter’s review stated that there was some variability in the quality of course content in relation to SEND training in ITT. Following that review, the Secretary of State for Education commissioned Stephen Munday to take forward an independent expert group tasked with developing a framework of core initial teacher training.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, may I take the noble Lord back to the answer that he gave to my noble friend Lady Farrington? Does he agree with me that, just because one is good at doing something, one is not necessarily good at teaching it? That applies to physics as much as it applies to drama. Therefore, does he further agree that qualifications in teaching are about providing skills in teaching that produce at least a minimum standard that pupils could expect from people who may be very qualified in their subject but not necessarily very good teachers?

[Lord Nash]

I entirely agree with the noble Baroness, and that is why we have focused teacher training on school-led training. After all, even for the PGCE, 65% of the nine months of training takes place in school. It is acknowledged that in school is the place to learn to teach. As I say, people acknowledge that it takes many years practising in school to become a fully expert teacher.

Schools: Drama

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Monday 5th September 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I entirely agree with the noble Lord about the importance of the creative industries in this country. That is one of the reasons why we have reformed computing and D&T GCSEs and A-levels to make them more relevant and ensure that our pupils have the necessary skills to succeed in these great industries. However, I remind him of the situation we inherited in 2010, where only one in five pupils in state schools was studying a basic academic curriculum that would be regarded as absolutely common fare in any independent school and in most successful jurisdictions. That is why we introduced the EBacc, because that curriculum is so important, particularly to pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds who do not get that cultural education at home. We have doubled the number of pupils taking EBacc and we intend to double it again, and more. We hope that by stimulating the intellectual juices of our pupils to study better academic and creative subjects, they will in time want to engage in the arts more widely.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, as the Minister has mentioned the Royal Shakespeare Company, I should declare an interest as a governor and board member of that company. He will probably also be aware that his right honourable friend David Cameron, the former Prime Minister, recently hosted the Royal Shakespeare Company at No. 10 Downing Street in connection with its Associated Schools programme. Therefore, I assume that there is some level of support from within the Government for what the Royal Shakespeare Company and other arts organisations are doing to promote education in the arts. However, the Minister will also know that all those organisations are extremely anxious about the decline in take-up of arts subjects, mostly as a result of concentration on the EBacc. He may also want to know that the Royal Shakespeare Company, which is extremely assiduous and invests heavily in education, is particularly anxious about the, frankly, rather lukewarm support that is coming from government about arts subjects in schools. Can he reassure the House, and beyond the House the education sector, that that support will get a little warmer as time goes on?

[Lord Nash]

I entirely agree that the Royal Shakespeare Company has a huge role to play, and has played a big role in our education system; and I am sure that the noble Baroness is pleased that pupils will now study a minimum of three Shakespeare plays during their secondary school career. In addition to the toolkit, earlier this year we provided funding to help the Royal Shakespeare Company stream “The Merchant of Venice” into all schools. I can assure the noble Baroness that we regard this as an extremely important part of the curriculum.

Education: Academies

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Monday 9th May 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I agree entirely with my noble friend that rural schools face certain pressures. We are absolutely determined that no school—particularly rural schools—will be left behind. Our national funding formula will, for the first time, provide many rural schools with more support than it has in the past. We are proposing both a lump sum and a sparsity factor for rural schools. As I said, we will have a fund of £10 million to help them explore the academisation. We will have people working with them and will do all we can to help them. We believe that rural schools working together may be able to afford, for instance, a language teacher, which on their own they would be unable to do. On my noble friend’s second point, we accept that where we have underperformance—wherever it is, whether in the local authority or elsewhere—we must have powers to intervene.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, the Minister made it fairly clear that although the element of compulsion has been removed at least from the rhetoric for the time being, it is still the determination of this Government to encourage, by whatever means, all schools to become academies. Building on the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Baker of Dorking, when he said that a poorly performing multi-academy trust is no better than a poorly performing local authority, can the Minister say why the Government are so bent on creating this new monoculture? A well-performing academy trust is obviously a very fine thing and we all like to see schools succeed, but some local authorities are also succeeding and are creating and supporting schools that are doing well. Should we not celebrate that success as well as the success of academies?

I shall follow on from the question asked by my noble friend on the Front Bench. The issue of autonomy for schools—much vaunted in the progress of this Government’s determination to encourage academies—is surely diluted in multi-academy trusts where there is, of course, one leadership team. The degree of autonomy that then resides with the individual school must by definition be reduced. Is that really what the Minister has in mind?

[Lord Nash]

As I have said, I accept that there are multi-academy trusts that are not performing, but we have ambitions to bring them up to the standards of those that clearly demonstrate that this model works. As far as a monoculture is concerned, we would say that we have much more diversity in the academy trust structure than under a local authority structure, whereby a school is stuck in one local authority because of a geographical accident. An academy can choose to convert, maybe on its own or as part of a small local cluster, or as part of a larger group. Of course, there are high-performing local authorities, and we encourage them to spin out and form multi-academy trusts, which some are discussing at the moment, or to subcontract out their school improvement activities.

As far as autonomy of individual schools is concerned, we have said a lot about how we would expect schools in multi-academy trusts to work together in local clusters. We think that is absolutely essential to their being intimately involved with their community. Ultimately, we are concerned with standards and pupils ahead of everything else.

Schools: Parent Governors

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Tuesday 26th April 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I agree entirely with that point. Parent governors play an important role in parental opinion, but we really want to engage with parents across a wider front so that we can have a much broader set of parental opinion. That is why we are bringing in these proposals that academies do that.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, building on the point made by the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harries, the implication of the way that the Government are framing this is that being a parent is somehow not enough to qualify to take part in the governance of a school at which one’s child might be a student. Does the Minister agree that, although many parents have many skills, the primary reason for having them on governing bodies is that they are parents? Would it not be better to allow that to stand as the main reason for having them there?

[Lord Nash]

I agree that we should encourage parents to stand for governing bodies, but we have been very clear over the past few years about focusing governance on skills. It is a skills-based function and that is why we have continually focused on skills. Anyone sitting on a governing body must have those skills, or certainly be able to develop them in relatively short order.

Children: Drugs

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Monday 11th April 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I do not agree with the noble Lord. A massive number of programmes are available. The FRANK website receives millions of hits, and Public Health England is about to launch its new online resource for young people, Rise Above. I have already referred to ADEPIS and the PSHE Association, and we have many other resources available for teachers.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, given that, as the Minister has just said, teachers are best placed to know the needs of their pupils, what are the Government doing to ensure that teachers are properly informed and supported in helping pupils to deal with such issues?

[Lord Nash]

We constantly point teachers, through our online resources, to all these resources. Of course, a very important part of our initial teacher training—ITT—is safeguarding, which I think is point seven in Teachers’ Standards.

Education: Henley Review

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Tuesday 15th March 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

My noble friend makes a good point, and of course we have the Cathedral Primary School in Bristol, a new free school which opened in 2013. I am very hopeful that we will see more of such free schools.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, does the Minister accept that there is a problem—I know that he is not terribly willing to accept it—which is to do with the extent to which teachers in both primary and secondary schools are under pressure to deliver a fixed curriculum that crowds out opportunities for students of all ages to participate in cultural activities of various kinds, despite the fact that quite a wide range of such activities is available for them to participate in? Is he content that this crowding out is what was intended when the cultural plan was developed?

Schools: Special Measures

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Wednesday 16th December 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I entirely agree that there are local authorities that are perfectly capable of turning schools around. The sad fact is, though, that quite a few—a depressingly large number—do not appear to have been prepared to use their intervention powers. Since 2006, 42 local authorities have never installed an IEB, and 49, nearly one-third, have never issued a warning notice since 2010.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, to go back to the question from my noble friend Lady Massey, could the Minister explain why this Government are bent on giving more powers to local authorities in a number of very important areas, such as health—I use the so-called northern powerhouse as the most high-profile example—yet appear to think that the same local authorities to which they are prepared to devolve those powers are not fit to run education services?

[Lord Nash]

Local authorities have been judged by Ofsted as being inadequate to run education. We are talking about two totally different things. We believe that we have set up a very effective system for intervening in schools that is working well.

Schools: Free Schools

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Monday 26th October 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

There is no question that that is the case. About half of free schools are in the most deprived areas in the country. In the last five rounds, 93% of them have been in areas where there was a forecast shortage of places and a large number of our top academy sponsors, who are particularly focused on underprivileged children, have entered the free school movement.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, the term “free school” obviously implies freedoms that do not apply to other kinds of school. Can the Minister assure the House that free schools do not have the liberty to withhold from their pupils in any circumstances a range of options in the curriculum that would be expected to be offered to children in other types of school? I think, for example, of subjects such as arts and music.

[Lord Nash]

I assure the noble Baroness that all schools are expected to have a broad and balanced curriculum. Certainly on my visits around free schools I see a very wide curriculum. If the noble Baroness would care to accompany me on a number, I am sure I could satisfy her on this point.

Creative Sector: Educational Provision

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Wednesday 22nd July 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

We will continue to use Progress 8 as the main accountability measure. GCSE entries in arts subjects in 2014 are actually up 5% on 2012, while the performing arts have nearly doubled. Of course we want all pupils to study a broad curriculum, and in particular the focus should be on enabling disadvantaged children to have access to a wide range of studies. Ofsted will inspect on this.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, will the Minister take this opportunity to applaud the work of many arts organisations? I should declare an interest as a member of the boards of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Roundhouse in Camden. The education work delivered not only by the large organisations but also by many smaller ones across the country is of outstanding quality. Does he agree that they find it dispiriting and difficult when they discover that actually there is a diminution of interest in the creative subjects in a number of schools, and that they do not get quite the response they once did to the programmes they offer? Does he think that that is really a good idea?

[Lord Nash]

I do applaud the work of the organisations referred to by the noble Baroness, but the statistics are quite clear. Uptake of GCSE subjects is expanding. All pupils take on average nine GCSEs, and with Progress 8 we hope to encourage pupils to study a broad curriculum with arts subjects.

Schools: Health and Well-being

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Monday 15th June 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I am not sure that I would go that far, frankly. The best way is to educate children in school as to what is healthy food and allow them to make those choices for themselves. We are making strong movements in this regard.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, I am sure that most Members of this House and many other people would accept that providing healthy food in schools, particularly to very young children, is an entirely laudable aim. What information does the Minister have about schools that are struggling to deliver this, both practically and financially, and what help is being offered to those that are having those problems?

[Lord Nash]

We have provided £185 million for cooking facilities for schools and we are training cooks in this area. More schoolchildren have this opportunity. It is reaching 85% of schoolchildren. Not all take it up—not all have been in school on the day in question—but it is receiving comprehensive coverage.

Childcare: Early-years Funding

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Wednesday 3rd June 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I assure the noble Baroness that we will be taking this extremely seriously—that is why we are funding the review—and we will protect essential services.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, what measures will the Government take in delivering this, on the whole very welcome, initiative to ensure that those who are actually providing the childcare are properly paid and properly managed?

[Lord Nash]

We will have extensive consultation with the sector and discuss the rates to ensure that we strike the right balance between the right rate for the providers and fair value for the taxpayer.

School Curriculum: PSHE

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Thursday 19th March 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

The national curriculum creates a minimum expectation for the content of a curriculum in maintained schools. Quite deliberately, it does not represent everything that a school should teach. It would not be possible to cover all that when there are so many groups wishing things to be included in the curriculum, but many schools already choose to include CPR and defibrillator awareness as part of their PSHE teaching. We will work with the British Heart Foundation to promote its call push rescue kit to schools, including through our social media channels and the summer term email.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, what work is being done with teacher educators to ensure that there is a good supply of properly qualified teachers to take this agenda forward, particularly in view of what my noble friend Lady Massey said about it being a whole-school enterprise and not a specialist subject?

[Lord Nash]

The noble Baroness is quite right in her observations. High-quality professional development for teachers is an essential part of raising standards in schools. The PSHE Association has some excellent resources, which we signpost for schools. They include an online CPD course, which explores assessment policy writing, creating schemes of work and SRE education. Teachers can of course benefit from the national PSHE CPD programme.

Schools: Academies

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Tuesday 3rd March 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I agree entirely with my noble friend, who makes the point admirably.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, would the noble Lord assist those of us who are, perhaps, not as clever as some other Members of this House and do not entirely understand the status of the money that is being held in these reserves? He said that academies are independent institutions and, of course, they are. However, they are publicly funded and the money held in those reserves is therefore, by most ordinary people’s calculation, public money. With reference to the answer he gave to the noble Lord, Lord Storey, could he explain in what way these funds are different from, say, the funds held in a charity? Are they to be used wholly and exclusively for the benefit of the institution? Can he assure the House that nobody else can benefit from them?

[Lord Nash]

I can give that assurance. They are there for the benefit of the institution, which in this case is the school in question.

National Curriculum: Animal Welfare

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Tuesday 24th February 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I entirely agree. Children taught properly should be able to balance all these arguments. They should be taught about argument and they should have enough scientific knowledge to understand what is happening.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, would the noble Lord agree that it is slightly unfortunate that he chose to use this really quite innocuous Question to make a very crude party-political point? Would he also accept that, in doing so, he undermines the morale of teachers who have been working in the system for very many years and doing the very best they can, sometimes in quite difficult circumstances? Would he further he accept that the best primary schools have animals for the children to look after and that is how they learn about animal welfare?

Schools: Foreign Languages

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Monday 26th January 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

We are very focused on increasing the quality of literacy in this country. Our phonics programme is now acknowledged to have been a substantial success. We have focused the national curriculum, particularly in primary schools, much more on language skills.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

Will the Minister say whether any resources have been made available to schools to bring in native speakers? It used to be that teaching assistants—for example, French, German, Italian or Spanish assistants—were available and could be funded, particularly in secondary schools. My guess is that in primary schools they would be even more useful. Is there any effort to make that happen?

[Lord Nash]

The noble Baroness makes an extremely good point. We have given the British Council, for instance, £500,000 to recruit foreign language assistants to work in the UK. Currently, some 1,250 foreign language assistants have been recruited for English schools, and the British Council is working with Hanban to introduce a number of Chinese language assistants into the country.

Schools: Arts Subjects

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Tuesday 20th January 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I agree entirely with the right reverend Prelate. A rich cultural education, a knowledge of history and an understanding of British values are all part of a good education and should help combat any temptation to radical ways of life.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, I think that everybody in this House would accept that the Government’s focus on STEM subjects has its merits, but does the Minister agree that the crude distinction made recently by his right honourable friend the Secretary of State between the value of STEM subjects and the value of arts-based subjects is unhelpful and that whatever he says about schools being encouraged to offer the arts, it is almost inevitable that subjects that are not promoted will be marginalised and that pupils will lose out?

[Lord Nash]

On average, pupils take over 11 key stage 4 subjects, so there is plenty of scope for the arts. The Secretary of State does not underestimate their importance, but we need to encourage more young people—particularly young women—to consider widening their options to STEM subjects.

Schools: Academies

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Monday 27th October 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

Where we receive an instance of fraud we immediately investigate. The EFA has investigated 35 cases of fraud in academies in two years. That compares with 191 reported in maintained schools over one year. If we feel that there are causes for concern we will inform the police or, in more minor cases, introduce a financial notice to improve.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, can the Minister tell the House how many of the cases of fraud that have been alleged were uncovered by investigation by his department or by Ofsted, and how many by whistleblowers?

[Lord Nash]

I do not have the exact answer to that question, but it is likely that a high proportion of all cases of fraud, whether in academies or in local authority maintained schools, will be uncovered by whistleblowers.

Schools: Class Sizes

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Wednesday 15th October 2014 Lords Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Nash) (Con)]

My Lords, we are making every effort and are investing heavily to address the unprecedented increase in pupil numbers. The average class size remains below the statutory limit, despite a massive population increase. We are investing £5 billion of capital funding, which has already enabled local authorities to create 260,000 additional pupil places between May 2010 and May 2013. This includes 212,000 primary places. There are 300,000 more places in the pipeline for September 2015.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply which, although welcome, strikes me as just a tiny bit complacent when we see that the figures for primary school children being taught in classes of more than 30 have gone up more than 200% between 2010 and 2014. Does he agree that most educationalists and teachers consider that, generally speaking, children do better in small classes? Indeed, that is what people who can afford to pay for their education are generally looking for. Will he say what he and the Government regard as the optimum primary school class size and on what evidence he bases his view?

[Lord Nash]

I would be interested in the noble Baroness’s definition of complacency because, despite the massive population increase, the previous Government cut the number of primary school places by 200,000 and the money by 26%. We have more than doubled the amount of money invested in class sizes. The relevant figures are that the class size in key stage 1 is 27.4 this year as opposed to 27.3 last year, a tiny increase. The pupil-teacher ratio is 21 in primary schools. Of course we would all like smaller class sizes, although the OECD and the EEF toolkit tell us that a reduction in class size gives a very poor return on investment and that increasing teacher quality and training is much better. It is true that some private schools have very low class sizes, but generally they are not as low as people think.

Music Education for Children with Physical Disabilities

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Wednesday 30th July 2014 Grand Committee

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Nash) (Con)]

I thank all noble Lords for participating in this debate and in particular I thank the noble Lord, Lord Lipsey, for securing it. When this debate first came on the agenda, I was concerned, not so much because of its timing, but because I do not know a great deal about the subject matter. However, I have greatly enjoyed reading myself into this debate and listening to the eloquent speeches, which I found extremely interesting. I have been frankly humbled to learn about how much is going on in this area and how powerful music education can be, particularly for children with physical disabilities.

The Government have the same ambition for children with disabilities as they have for all children. We want pupils to achieve well at school, lead happy and fulfilled lives and have choice and control. I have no doubt that music is a key way of achieving this, particularly for pupils with disabilities and SEN. Several noble Lords attested to that today. I remember vividly that when I was doing research into the academies programme I visited a KIPP charter school in a particularly deprived area of New York City where every child is in an orchestra which travels across the United States to perform. It is renowned for its success.

Music has been confirmed as a statutory subject for children between the ages of five and 14 in the new national curriculum, which comes into force in all maintained schools from September. The revised programmes of study for music have an increased focus on the need for activities to be undertaken musically, with reference to all children learning to play a musical instrument. The new, slimmed-down curriculum provides greater freedoms for teachers to use their creativity and professional judgment in how they teach to meet the needs of the pupils in their class. At key stage 4, the arts are one of four entitlement areas within the national curriculum. Maintained schools must provide all pupils with access to at least one course in the arts entitlement area, which includes music, art and design, dance, drama and media arts.

The Equality Act places a duty on all schools to support disabled children and young people. It includes making reasonable adjustments to prevent them suffering discrimination and supplying additional aids and services. Schools must have also accessibility plans which set out how they will improve access to the curriculum, improve the school’s buildings and environment to enable disabled pupils to take better advantage of the school and improve the availability of accessible information. This includes academies and free schools. Additionally, to make sure that all teachers know how to adapt teaching to respond to their pupils’ needs, part 5 of the teachers’ standards requires teachers to,

“have a secure understanding of how a range of factors can inhibit pupils’ ability to learn, and how best to overcome these”.

To support and encourage all children to experience excellent music education, the Government have set up 123 new music education hubs. Since August 2012, these hubs have been working to drive up the quality and consistency of music education across the country, with an emphasis on forging new partnerships. Hubs are required to develop four core roles, which include ensuring that every child aged five to 18 has the opportunity to learn a musical instrument through whole-class ensemble teaching and providing opportunities for them to play in ensembles and perform from an early stage. They are also expected to ensure that clear progression routes are available and affordable to all young people, and to develop a singing strategy so that every pupil can sing regularly in a choir or other vocal ensembles in their area. In addition, hubs may provide other services, such as professional development for teachers.

In answer to the question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, about participation, I am pleased to say that 5% of pupils who participated in instrumental ensembles or choirs in 2012-13 had a statement of special educational needs, compared to 2.8% nationally.

There are some excellent examples of hubs working with children who have disabilities. Telford music education hub offers a bespoke version of its whole-class ensemble tuition programme for special schools. Camden hub integrates pupils from local special schools into the Camden music festival and Surrey music hub, with partner Rhythmix, has run a sound and motion lab looking at how digital technologies can aid music-making for children with movement impairment at the Orpheus residential centre for children with disabilities. In Telford, the hub’s Kreative Kidz programme offers specialist out-of-school arts and music sessions for young people with severe physical needs, under the short breaks duty introduced to local authorities in April 2011. The Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent hub’s strategic partner, Make Some Noise, runs training and mentoring programmes for musicians and teachers wishing to improve their skill set and confidence in delivering music activities for children with SEN and disabilities, through the use of assisted music technology specialists and equipment. Bradford music education hub offered training events for teachers of children with SEN and disabilities between November and March last year, covering topics such as song-writing, composition and developing choirs.

As my noble friend Lord German mentioned, schools are also demonstrating innovative practice in this area. At Great Oaks, a special needs school in Southampton, all students learn to use mobile devices to make music. In October 2013, the school held a mobile device concert for students to perform arrangements of popular music songs independently in iPad bands. Bradford music has also established a singing choir at Hanson secondary school, drawing on specialist expertise and advice from Music and the Deaf, a unique charity based in Huddersfield that helps people suffering hearing loss to enjoy music. In Ealing, a partnership on music and autism with the Orchestra of St John’s led to securing funding to develop a series of workshops and performances, led by members of the orchestra, in all the borough’s specials schools.

In response to the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Lipsey, I am delighted to say that the Government appreciate the benefits of the music and this type of work. I am very happy to make that statement. The Department for Education will look to publicise work of this type, whether it is led by music hubs, charities or schools, to help to give due recognition to these extremely worthwhile projects, and it will encourage other organisations to emulate this good practice in their work.

I am grateful for the comments from the noble Lord, Lord Lipsey, the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, and my noble friends Lord Jenkin and Lord German about the announcement on 22 July that our music budget will increase by £18 million in 2015-16, with most of this money going to the hubs. This will bring the total that this Government are spending on music education for the period between 2012 and 2016 to more than £390 million.

Other programmes include In Harmony, which we sponsor alongside Arts Council England and others. In Harmony is transforming the lives of children through community-based orchestras for music-making in six areas of exceptional deprivation. Again, we are aware of excellent inclusion practices. For example, in a participating Nottingham school, a child with muscular dystrophy has had a half-size guitar adapted so that it can be tuned to the correct pitch, enabling her to carry out pizzicato alongside her classmates. In Newcastle, In Harmony has helped a child with a very severe speech disability to excel on bassoon. He has performed solo at Newcastle’s Literary & Philosophical Society and is now attending the Sage Gateshead centre for advanced training.

Our funding for Music for Youth is also enabling children with disabilities to attend and perform at regional and national festivals at world-class venues. Sixteen children and young people with additional needs from Beacon Hill Academy in Essex, a specialist college for sensory and physical needs, performed in a mass ensemble showcase performance at the Royal Albert Hall for the Schools Prom in 2013. This was part of an exclusive music project in Essex, delivered by Music for Youth in partnership with three music education hubs.

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Lipsey, for drawing our attention to the achievements of one-handed musicians and the extraordinary and pioneering work of the One-Handed Musical Instrument Trust. The Government have been clear that all pupils, whatever their individual needs, should benefit from an education in music, and through our work with the Arts Council and others we will continue to make sure that providing opportunities with SEN disabilities is essential to the work.

I enjoyed the comments of my noble friend Lord Jenkin about Douglas Fox and his wonderful work. I also thank him for highlighting the commendable work of Jessie’s Fund in helping seriously ill and disabled children through the therapeutic use of music. Through its Soundtracks programme it is running creative workshops in more than 80 schools for children with special needs. It is doing excellent work in supporting children to take part in the musical process.

I am grateful to my noble friend Lord German for his comments about the benefits of music as therapy and its ability to break down barriers. This is evident in the work of programmes funded by the department. In Cambridgeshire, there is an established music therapy programme providing clinical interventions, while Telford and Wrekin’s In Harmony programme has a specialist nurture group.

I noted comments about establishing an international paramusic competition, and I will discuss it with DCMS, as it seems like a very good idea. Technology is also crucial. I have already pointed to the innovative work with mobile devices at Great Oaks School in Southampton.

The noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, and the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, emphasised the importance of making sure that the money we have provided is well spent and reaches students with disabilities and SEN. We have been working with the Arts Council to support and challenge hubs. We have introduced a new requirement for hubs to develop school music education plans. They must clearly demonstrate how they are connecting with all the schools in their area and how they are planning to provide targeted support to schools where necessary. We have also set up a new hubs advisory group, which is providing strategic advice to the DfE on the effectiveness of hub networks. Members are drawn from organisations with an interest in the performance of hubs, including representatives from schools, music hubs, Ofsted and other music stakeholders. There is an SEN teacher on the hubs advisory group.

The Arts Council also analyses the data from hubs to ensure that children and young people with SEN and disabilities are engaged. Several hubs are currently undertaking specific research and activity with children and young people with SEN, and we will share this across the network as appropriate. The Arts Council runs a flagship Artsmark programme to enable schools and other organisations to evaluate, strengthen and celebrate their arts and cultural provision. Artsmark is nationally recognised as demonstrating excellence in arts and cultural provision, and any school, college or young justice organisation can apply. It is open to SEN schools. A specialist leaders in cultural education course has been developed by one of ACE’s bridge organisations and this is open to special schools.

The noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, asked about the national plan for music education’s monitoring board and whether this will continue. It continues to meet termly as the cultural education board, chaired by Ministers from DfE and DCMS, and Darren Henley. I will ask my officials to investigate the use of technology in music GCSEs and will write to the noble Lord on that issue.

I am very grateful to my noble friend Lady Nicholson who spoke so powerfully about the power of music for deaf children. She highlighted the excellent Mary Hare School for the deaf. I was very impressed to hear about the school and its arrangements in Romania. Schools with real expertise can make significant contributions by sharing their knowledge internationally. I would be very pleased to discuss this with my noble friend. I should be grateful if she could keep me informed and would be delighted to meet representatives from Romania when they are here.

The noble Baroness, Lady Jones, made the point that top-performing schools in music are often independent schools. Sadly, that is true. As we all know, the top-performing schools in this country absolutely, and in many areas, are disproportionately represented in the independent sector, which is why this Government are so determined to increase the performance of the state education sector.

I believe that the policies and programmes that I have described demonstrate our desire to ensure that no child is excluded from receiving a high-quality music education due to a physical or other physical disability. I am sure that noble Lords will agree that the impact of our programmes on disabled young people is evident from the examples that I have given throughout the country.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall) (Lab)]

My Lords, that concludes business in Grand Committee this afternoon. The Committee stands adjourned and I take this opportunity to wish all noble Lords and others a very pleasant recess.

Schools: Teachers

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Tuesday 24th June 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to encourage the retention and development of experienced qualified teachers in maintained schools.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Nash) (Con)]

My Lords, through our 548 teaching schools and teaching school alliances we are developing a truly school-led system providing a wide range of CPD opportunities for schools across the country. This is substantially enhancing the career opportunities for teachers. Some 74% of trainee teachers now hold a 2:1 degree or better—the highest proportion ever. Teaching is the most popular career choice for Oxford graduates and Teach First is Britain’s biggest graduate recruiter. Vacancy rates are declining and 78% of new teachers are teaching after five years, which represents a considerably lower number of career changes than in many other jobs.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, while I thank the Minister for that—encouraging on the surface—reply, will he confirm that many teachers regularly work 60 hours a week and in school holidays and find it very difficult to make time to develop their own practice? Coming from a family that is richly endowed with teachers, I see these pressures close up. I believe that he gave some figures from his department showing that 74% of newly qualified teachers now stay in the profession for five years. Recent figures showed the rate as being closer to 50%, which, if true, would certainly be a terrible waste. Will the Government ensure that boards of governors and head teachers take seriously the well-being of teachers, including the need for them to be good parents to their own children, and pay attention particularly to the need for mentoring and professional development?

[Lord Nash]

The noble Baroness is quite right; as I have said before, teaching is the noblest profession and, at this time in our history, is one of the most important jobs in the country. The figure is actually 78%, not 74%, and the recently reported figure of 50% is inaccurate. We applaud what teachers do. We know that they consistently go the extra mile to help their pupils. We take their responsibilities very seriously and we constantly exhort governing bodies to focus increasingly on CPD opportunities for teachers.

Schools: Arts Subjects

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Wednesday 12th February 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I know of the contribution in this area of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, which the noble Lord knows well and whose lead patron is Sir Paul McCartney. Indeed, we have approved it to open a primary free school, which will use the creative and performing arts to encourage a lasting enthusiasm for learning. Pupil premium funding is allocated to schools to decide how to improve the outcome for disadvantaged pupils. Ofsted now inspects against this and it will be very difficult for schools to get an outstanding rating if they are not making good progress for their pupil premium pupils. All schools have to publish online how they are spending their pupil premium money and its impact.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, may I recommend to the noble Lord that he looks at a report from Professor Ken Robinson that was co-commissioned by his department, as it then was, and the DCMS more than a decade ago? In the report Professor Robinson explained in great detail the value of creative education, broadly, both educationally and socially. Can the noble Lord tell the House how relations between his department and the DCMS currently are, because I am afraid that Professor Robinson’s report fell slightly foul of a lack of co-ordination between them at the time? Can he say whether his department is well acquainted with the wide range of educational opportunities provided by arts organisations to enhance the curriculum in the way that he seeks?

[Lord Nash]

The noble Baroness raises a good point. I am not aware of the report, but she is of course vastly experienced in this area as a former chief executive of the Royal Opera House and principal of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Cross-departmental working is never a smooth affair. We had some success with my noble friend in the Children and Families Bill, and I would be very interested to look into this in more detail. The noble Baroness is absolutely right that all schools should engage with wider organisations. My own school engages with a wide range of charities and organisations to enhance our arts and drama offer.

Schools: Pupil Premium

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Monday 3rd February 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

The noble Lord is absolutely right. Of course, given his background, he is vastly experienced in this. I could not agree more. Ofsted is doing an outstanding job. It is our sharpest tool. The first thing that the chief inspector did was to abolish the appalling and mediocre term “satisfactory” that had been allowed to exist for years. That shows where he is coming from, and he is having a great effect. Indeed, Ofsted reports that last year our schools improved at a faster rate than any other time in history.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, will the Minister remind the House what the key measures of deprivation are against which the allocation of the pupil premium is measured? To go back to the question from the right reverend Prelate, are those standard measures applied consistently across the whole country?

[Lord Nash]

The noble Baroness has asked me a question that has a very detailed answer. There are about six key measures. We attempt to apply them equally across the country, but the answer is so complicated that I will write to her, if I may.

Schools: Expenditure Per Pupil

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Wednesday 4th December 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average spend per pupil in the state-funded education sector for 11 to 18 year-olds; and how that figure compares to the average spend per pupil in the private sector for the same age group.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Nash) (Con)]

My Lords, we estimate that state schools received revenue and capital funding of £6,350 per pupil in 2012-13, compared to independent day schools, which received £11,510. These figures cover pupils aged three to 19 years old, as there is no available breakdown of either figure to cover the requested age range of 11 to 18 year-olds. We cannot provide data relating to 2013-14, as these are not yet available.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that unexpectedly helpful reply. We can accept from what he said that there is clearly a significant difference between the amounts of money being spent on children in maintained schools and those in independent schools. The House has often heard the Minister extol the virtues of the independent schools, and I acknowledge that there is a lot to admire in the best of them, but would he acknowledge that to use as he does the achievements of that privileged and exclusive sector as a stick with which to beat maintained schools is neither fair nor reasonable? Would he further agree that what parents who can afford to pay are buying—and I speak with authority on this matter—is not narrow focus on academic achievement, important as that may be, but a broad curriculum that properly values, for example, sport, music, drama and the humanities, the very subjects now fighting to avoid marginalisation under the Government’s new national curriculum arrangements?

[Lord Nash]

The noble Baroness is quite right that we cannot make the comparison, for the reasons that she states. I am delighted that she found my Answer helpful; we are always here to be as helpful as we can. I do not seek to use the independent sector as a stick to beat the state sector, but I personally find it quite shocking that 7% of the population go to private schools yet they take more than half the top jobs and more than 40% of the places in our top universities. That is a level of social immobility that I am sure we are all determined to change, without wishing in any way to knock either the state or independent sector.

I agree entirely that all pupils should receive a broad and balanced curriculum. The noble Baroness has vast experience of the performing arts. In their contributions to the “Best Eight” measure, there will be plenty of opportunity for schools to make a showing on a broad and balanced basis with subjects such as drama and music.

Schools: Unqualified Staff

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Monday 4th November 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are their reasons for encouraging the employment of unqualified classroom teachers in state-funded schools.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Nash) (Con)]

My Lords, we do not seek to encourage teachers without QTS. Indeed, under this Government, the number of teachers without QTS has gone down by 20% from the level of 18,600 it reached under the previous Government. By the Labour Party’s sole measure for this, we are therefore doing rather well. We merely seek to ensure that our children are taught by the best teachers, not just those with a particular qualification. Under a Labour Government, a teacher who had been teaching brilliantly for 30 years and who had a PhD in his subject but did not have that particular qualification would either have to get it or face the sack. How daft is that?

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord on somewhat sidestepping the Question that I put to him. In passing, I also note that he did not refer to the fact that his right honourable friend the Deputy Prime Minister takes a different view from him on this matter, but perhaps I should not intrude on private grief. The point is that knowledge, enthusiasm and, indeed, natural gifts may be necessary but they are not sufficient in developing professional competence. Does he not accept that, somewhat against the tone that he took in responding to my noble friend Lady Blackstone a couple of weeks ago, to make this point is not to be dogmatic? I do not think that he would disagree with me if we were talking about train drivers or brain surgeons. Will he explain why teachers are an exception?

[Lord Nash]

My Lords, a number of studies, including a notable one in 2007 by McKinsey, have revealed that a more effective system of selecting teachers is based on things such as their level of literacy and numeracy, interpersonal skills, commitment, willingness to learn and passion for their subject. There is no evidence that teachers with QTS teach better than those without it.

Schools: Curriculum

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Wednesday 30th October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I agree entirely with the right reverend Prelate. Faith schools are a long-established and highly valued part of our educational establishment, and church schools are, too. Church schools consistently outperform maintained schools; they are very popular and often highly oversubscribed. The applications procedures of many of them do not rely heavily on faith; they have a much wider intake.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, will the Minister return to the answer that he gave to the noble Lord, Lord Quirk, who asked him an extremely apposite question about which bits of the national curriculum he would be content to see any school ignore? I did not hear him answer that question.

[Lord Nash]

As I said, they must teach English, maths, science, and religious education, and they must follow a PSHE course. We will have a best eight assessment criteria, whereby schools will have to include other subjects. Then we have destinations, because we want our pupils to be work-ready and for them not to turn out as recently evaluated by the OECD—that is, that after 13 years of the Labour Government we have the most illiterate school leavers in Europe and, according to Alan Milburn, the most socially immobile society in Europe.

National Curriculum: Violence against Women

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Monday 28th October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I agree entirely with my noble friend’s comments. We have asked Ofsted to publish best practice on PSHE, and we encourage all schools to do what the best schools can.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, may I take the noble Lord back to the Answer that he gave to my noble friend Lady Prosser? If I heard him right, he said that he thought that the message did not need to go to all girls. Can he tell the House which girls he thinks do not need to hear this message?

[Lord Nash]

I did not intend to give that impression. If I did, I apologise. I just think that the method of getting the message to all girls needs to be carefully thought out.

Schools: Sport

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Monday 20th May 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I am reluctant to give my noble friend that assurance here and now, but I am very willing to discuss this with him further to see whether we can do whatever we can to alleviate his fears.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that the effective use of the money that has been set aside for sport depends on the continued willingness of teachers—not just dedicated PE teachers but other teachers—to support sports activities outside the normal school curriculum and timetable? Will he take this opportunity to pay tribute to all the teachers who put a lot of their own time into making sure that children are able to take advantage of sporting opportunities when they arise?

[Lord Nash]

I agree entirely with the point made by the noble Baroness and will take this opportunity to pay tribute to teachers. The House has heard me say before that I regard teaching as the most noble of professions. All good schools provide a comprehensive range of sports during and after the school day and we are keen to send a message to all schools that we expect them to do the same.

Education: English Baccalaureate Certificate

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Thursday 24th January 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall]

My Lords, referring back to the question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Bichard, can the noble Lord confirm that the Government received with enthusiasm Darren Henley’s recent excellent report on cultural education? If so, can he say how the Government plan to implement the report’s recommendations?

[Lord Nash]

We have received this report. We are considering all the responses to the consultation in relation to the EBCs and we certainly will be taking that into account.