Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much of the Apprenticeship Levy was returned to the Treasury in each of the last three years.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The apprenticeship levy is an important part of the government’s reforms to create a high-quality, employer-led apprenticeships system, and it supports employers of all sizes to invest in high-quality apprenticeship training. The government does not currently have any plans to review the apprenticeship levy.
The apprenticeships budget is used to fund training and assessment for new apprenticeship starts in levy and non-levy paying employers, and to cover the ongoing costs of apprentices already in training and any additional payments made to employers and providers. The table below shows the department’s ring-fenced apprenticeships budget against the apprenticeship expenditure for the last three financial years (FY).
(£ million) | FY 19/20 | FY 20/21 | FY 21/22 |
DfE Ring-fence Apprenticeships Budget | 2,469 | 2,467 | 2,466 |
Total Ring-fence Apprenticeships Spend | 1,919 | 1,863 | 2,455 |
Underspend against Ring-fenced Apprenticeships Budget | 550 | 604 | 11 |
In the 2021/22 financial year, 99.6% of the apprenticeships budget was spent. It is therefore important that the apprenticeships budget remains ring-fenced to support the demand by employers for high-quality apprenticeship training.
The government is increasing apprenticeship funding to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year and is continuing to improve the apprenticeships system to support employers fill their vacancies and train their workforces to address industry skills gaps.
The department has worked with employers to develop over 660 high-quality apprenticeship standards, including in hospitality and retail occupations. We have also created flexible training models, like flexi-job and accelerated apprenticeships, and improved the levy transfer system so it is easier for levy paying employers to make full use of their levy funds.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Barran on 5 December (HL Deb cols 6–9), what were the criteria for the selection of those educational institutions that were registered to carry out teacher training; who carried out this process; and what was the rational for those institutions which previously received a good or outstanding Ofsted inspection having their accreditation for teacher training removed.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Teacher training providers who deliver initial teacher training (ITT) leading to qualified teacher status are accredited by the department, and must adhere to the ITT criteria on an ongoing basis as a condition of their accreditation. Following a consultation on the recommendations of the ITT Market Review, the department implemented a rigorous accreditation process in December 2021.
The accreditation process focused on key features of high-quality ITT, as set out in the Review, the trainee curriculum (questions 1a and 1b), mentoring (question 1c) and partnerships (question 2).
Ofsted assessed questions 1a and 1b, and trained officials at the department assessed questions 1c and 2.
The accreditation process tested proposals for delivering ITT against new quality requirements that will come into effect from September 2024, and go beyond the existing ITT criteria used for current Ofsted inspection judgements, such as increased requirements around mentoring. As such, there can be disparities with current Ofsted judgements as they do not necessarily reflect a provider’s ability to deliver against the new requirements. The accreditation process was based solely on the content of the submitted applications.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Barran on 5 December (HL Deb cols 6–9), what is the appeals mechanism for those institutions that were refused accreditation to carry out teacher training; how the appeals will be carried out and by whom; and whether the decisions of those appeals will be agreed with sufficient time to allow those institutions time to recruit students for the 2023/24 academic year.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Following the completion of the recent initial teacher training (ITT) accreditation rounds, the department allowed an appeals process for applicants who had been unsuccessful. The appeals process opened on 30 September 2022 and applicants had 15 working days to submit an appeal via an online form. The department assessed all submissions on a case-by-case basis, against published criteria. The published criteria allowed for appeals under two circumstances: if there had been an administrative error (the score or feedback did not match, or the score or feedback provided did not relate to the applicant’s material) or on process grounds (that the assessor had not properly taken all material into account).
Submissions were reviewed by trained officials who had not been involved with the original assessment of the application under review. All submissions underwent a comprehensive review, taking into account the submitted material, published criteria, original accreditation applications, and any other associated material. The appeals process has now concluded, with all applicants being notified of their outcomes on 8 December 2022.
The accreditation process is for delivery of ITT from the 2024/25 academic year. The outcomes of this process have no bearing on recruitment for delivery of ITT in the 2023/24 academic year.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the difference between a grammar school and a foundation or voluntary school, funded by the local authority, which also selects their pupils by academic ability.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Grammar schools are the only state-funded schools permitted to select all their children by high general academic ability. There are 163 grammar schools, all of which were maintained schools in 1998 and designated as grammar schools by the Education (Grammar School Designation) Order 1998 (as amended in 1999).
143 of these schools have subsequently become academy schools and are permitted to continue to select by academic ability through provisions within the Academies Act 2010 and their funding agreements.
Of the 20 maintained grammar schools, 7 are community schools, 6 are voluntary aided schools, 6 are foundation schools and 1 is a voluntary controlled school.
In addition, a number of state-funded schools were permitted to retain partial selection by academic ability or aptitude by provisions within the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. 40 of these schools remain partially selective.
32 of them are academies and are permitted to continue to select through the aforementioned legal and funding agreement mechanisms. 8 are maintained schools, and of these 4 are foundation schools, 3 are voluntary aided schools and 1 is a community school. 31 of these partially selective schools select a proportion of their intakes by general academic ability, 2 select by ability in music, 1 by ability in technology, and 1 by ability in maths. The remaining 5 select a proportion of their intakes by aptitude[1].
[1] Either a form of aptitude that would not otherwise be permitted or more than 10% by aptitude.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of school children that have not returned to full-time schooling following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 6 December 2022 to Question HL3775.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many schools in England do not have access to a swimming pool for their swimming lessons.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not collect data on schools’ access to swimming pools or on pupils’ swimming ability on leaving school.
All schools in receipt of the primary PE and sport premium are required to publish the percentage of their pupils in year 6 who meet each of the three swimming and water safety national curriculum expectations. This includes the ability to swim 25 metres unaided. Schools will publish this data by 31 July 2023.
Sport England collects data from schools in England for its Active Lives Children and Young People’s Survey. Data from the 2020/21 academic year shows 76% of year 7 children can swim 25 metres unaided.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many children in England leave school not being able to swim.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not collect data on schools’ access to swimming pools or on pupils’ swimming ability on leaving school.
All schools in receipt of the primary PE and sport premium are required to publish the percentage of their pupils in year 6 who meet each of the three swimming and water safety national curriculum expectations. This includes the ability to swim 25 metres unaided. Schools will publish this data by 31 July 2023.
Sport England collects data from schools in England for its Active Lives Children and Young People’s Survey. Data from the 2020/21 academic year shows 76% of year 7 children can swim 25 metres unaided.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the 11-plus tests at grammar schools are moderated; and whether this moderation is carried out independently.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not collect data on which schools, permitted by law, select pupils by aptitude or ability via a written test.
Selection tests can lawfully form part of any selective school’s admission arrangements. The School Admissions Code requires tests to ‘be clear, objective, and [to] give an accurate reflection of the child’s ability or aptitude, irrespective of sex, race, or disability’, but it does not require them to be independently moderated. The School Admissions Code can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-admissions-code--2.
In many cases, tests will be purchased from commercial providers and will be marked by them, although that is not a legal requirement.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many non-grammar schools select pupils by a written test.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not collect data on which schools, permitted by law, select pupils by aptitude or ability via a written test.
Selection tests can lawfully form part of any selective school’s admission arrangements. The School Admissions Code requires tests to ‘be clear, objective, and [to] give an accurate reflection of the child’s ability or aptitude, irrespective of sex, race, or disability’, but it does not require them to be independently moderated. The School Admissions Code can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-admissions-code--2.
In many cases, tests will be purchased from commercial providers and will be marked by them, although that is not a legal requirement.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the amount of money spent on average by local authorities supporting children who are home educated.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold data on the amount of funding that local authorities allocate to support their existing duties in relation to elective home education. However, new burdens assessments have been undertaken with regards to the proposals for Children Not in School registers and the accompanying support duty for local authorities, which will be used to help determine the level of financial support needed to enable local authorities to comply with their proposed new statutory duties.
The department does not hold data on educational or wellbeing outcomes of children who are being home-educated. Parents have the right to home educate as they choose, provided the education is suitable to the age, ability, aptitude, and the special educational needs of the child. There are no requirements for these children to undertake formal assessments, at set points, which are typically used as part of measuring the outcomes of children attending school. Therefore, no data of this nature is collected.