Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to expand the delivery of digital skills short courses and skills academies.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Digital and computing skills are critical to achieving the department’s science and technology superpower ambitions, which were published in March 2023 in the UK Science & Technology Framework. Programmers, data scientists, and other key digital roles will help to deliver the department’s ambitions for the critical technologies detailed in the Framework, like AI and Quantum, but their importance is not limited to these technologies. These roles are fundamental to the wider labour market with 60% of businesses believing their reliance on advanced digital skills will increase over the next five years.
The department is investing in employer led technical skills and education, with courses and training in digital subjects often at the forefront of its reforms. For example, the department has introduced three Digital T Levels. These are gold-standard Level 3 technical qualifications designed with employers to meet industry standards. They have a significant industry placement built in to give experience of work within the digital sector.
There are also over 30 Digital Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) now being taught. These are Level 4/5 qualifications developed by awarding bodies in collaboration with employers so students can develop the digital skills that employers want. Additionally, digital apprenticeships continue to grow with over 22,000 starts in 2022/23, which is an increase of 19% from the previous year.
The department is building on these initiatives through the Digital and Computing Skills Education Taskforce which brings together government and external expertise to increase the numbers of individuals taking digital and computing qualifications in mainstream and tertiary education and to attract individuals into digital jobs.
The department’s ambitious skills agenda is backed by an additional £3.8 billion in further education and skills over this Parliament. The department is using this funding to ensure people of all ages can access high quality training and education which addresses skills gaps and boosts productivity. Key examples of how this funding has been used to support digital skills can be seen in the introduction of 21 Institutes of Technology (IoTs) across England, the introduction of the Free Courses for Jobs offer and the national roll out of Digital Skills Bootcamps.
IoTs are leaders in the provision of high quality higher level technical education. They are employer-led collaborations that bring together the best of existing further education provision with higher education partners to develop a high skilled, diverse workforce that is designed to respond to evolving sector needs. IoTs aim to help close skills gaps in STEM sectors, like digital. By establishing IoTs as a permanent network of ‘go to’ providers with deep employer relationships for Level 4/5 higher level STEM training, they play a critical role in boosting local economies and delivering the Lifelong Learning Entitlement and HTQs.
Launched in April 2021, the Free Courses for Jobs offer allows eligible adults to access over 400 Level 3 qualifications (A level equivalent) for free, including those linked with digital careers. These courses are ideal for those adults over 50 without a Level 3 qualification that are looking to improve their digital skills, retrain or upskill to meet their potential.
Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks for adults aged 19 or over, with courses available in digital subjects such as software development, cyber security, and data analytics. The majority of the trailblazers in Skills Bootcamps launched in 2020, were Digital. Digital training constituted the biggest element of the department’s provision in the ensuing waves of delivery in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years.
More Skills Bootcamps in Digital are being delivered through the launch of a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) which enables the department to procure Skills Bootcamps in response to quickly emerging skills needs and changing employment patterns. The department focused on Skills Bootcamps in digital skills as a priority for the first competition run from the DPS, and Digital skills are further included in the second competition.
Digital skills are increasingly critical for all citizens, enabling them to play a full part in society. Through the Adult Education Budget, the department introduced a new legal entitlement in 2020 for adults to study free, high quality Essential Digital Skills Qualifications and, from August 2023, new digital Functional Skills Qualifications. These qualifications were developed against employer supported National Standards and provide learners with the essential digital skills they need to participate actively in life, work and society.
The government recognises that formal qualifications are not appropriate for everyone, which is why it also funds community learning and other non-regulated learning, such as building confidence in essential digital skills, through the Adult Education Budget. Many local authorities and other further education providers are already delivering these courses that help equip adults with the essential digital skills they need for work, life and further learning. From next year, the Adult Skills Fund will continue to support both qualification-based learning and tailored learning (which will include non-regulated learning to build digital skills) so adults can retrain and upskill in the most effective way.
Through skills reforms, the government is continuing to ensure learners are supported, including those who need the most support, to train, retrain and upskill so they can climb the ladder of opportunity towards better jobs, better wellbeing, and better options for the future.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the digital skills gap for those aged over 50.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Digital and computing skills are critical to achieving the department’s science and technology superpower ambitions, which were published in March 2023 in the UK Science & Technology Framework. Programmers, data scientists, and other key digital roles will help to deliver the department’s ambitions for the critical technologies detailed in the Framework, like AI and Quantum, but their importance is not limited to these technologies. These roles are fundamental to the wider labour market with 60% of businesses believing their reliance on advanced digital skills will increase over the next five years.
The department is investing in employer led technical skills and education, with courses and training in digital subjects often at the forefront of its reforms. For example, the department has introduced three Digital T Levels. These are gold-standard Level 3 technical qualifications designed with employers to meet industry standards. They have a significant industry placement built in to give experience of work within the digital sector.
There are also over 30 Digital Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) now being taught. These are Level 4/5 qualifications developed by awarding bodies in collaboration with employers so students can develop the digital skills that employers want. Additionally, digital apprenticeships continue to grow with over 22,000 starts in 2022/23, which is an increase of 19% from the previous year.
The department is building on these initiatives through the Digital and Computing Skills Education Taskforce which brings together government and external expertise to increase the numbers of individuals taking digital and computing qualifications in mainstream and tertiary education and to attract individuals into digital jobs.
The department’s ambitious skills agenda is backed by an additional £3.8 billion in further education and skills over this Parliament. The department is using this funding to ensure people of all ages can access high quality training and education which addresses skills gaps and boosts productivity. Key examples of how this funding has been used to support digital skills can be seen in the introduction of 21 Institutes of Technology (IoTs) across England, the introduction of the Free Courses for Jobs offer and the national roll out of Digital Skills Bootcamps.
IoTs are leaders in the provision of high quality higher level technical education. They are employer-led collaborations that bring together the best of existing further education provision with higher education partners to develop a high skilled, diverse workforce that is designed to respond to evolving sector needs. IoTs aim to help close skills gaps in STEM sectors, like digital. By establishing IoTs as a permanent network of ‘go to’ providers with deep employer relationships for Level 4/5 higher level STEM training, they play a critical role in boosting local economies and delivering the Lifelong Learning Entitlement and HTQs.
Launched in April 2021, the Free Courses for Jobs offer allows eligible adults to access over 400 Level 3 qualifications (A level equivalent) for free, including those linked with digital careers. These courses are ideal for those adults over 50 without a Level 3 qualification that are looking to improve their digital skills, retrain or upskill to meet their potential.
Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks for adults aged 19 or over, with courses available in digital subjects such as software development, cyber security, and data analytics. The majority of the trailblazers in Skills Bootcamps launched in 2020, were Digital. Digital training constituted the biggest element of the department’s provision in the ensuing waves of delivery in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years.
More Skills Bootcamps in Digital are being delivered through the launch of a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) which enables the department to procure Skills Bootcamps in response to quickly emerging skills needs and changing employment patterns. The department focused on Skills Bootcamps in digital skills as a priority for the first competition run from the DPS, and Digital skills are further included in the second competition.
Digital skills are increasingly critical for all citizens, enabling them to play a full part in society. Through the Adult Education Budget, the department introduced a new legal entitlement in 2020 for adults to study free, high quality Essential Digital Skills Qualifications and, from August 2023, new digital Functional Skills Qualifications. These qualifications were developed against employer supported National Standards and provide learners with the essential digital skills they need to participate actively in life, work and society.
The government recognises that formal qualifications are not appropriate for everyone, which is why it also funds community learning and other non-regulated learning, such as building confidence in essential digital skills, through the Adult Education Budget. Many local authorities and other further education providers are already delivering these courses that help equip adults with the essential digital skills they need for work, life and further learning. From next year, the Adult Skills Fund will continue to support both qualification-based learning and tailored learning (which will include non-regulated learning to build digital skills) so adults can retrain and upskill in the most effective way.
Through skills reforms, the government is continuing to ensure learners are supported, including those who need the most support, to train, retrain and upskill so they can climb the ladder of opportunity towards better jobs, better wellbeing, and better options for the future.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what additional support they are providing to further education colleges to assist with meeting the costs associated with the increased number of students who will resit GCSE English and maths in 2023–24 as a result of the return to 2019 standards in the 2023 summer exams.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The higher pass rate of GCSEs in 2020 and 2021 led to a reduction in the proportion of young people required to re-sit English and mathematics in post-16 education in 2020/21 and 2021/22. The department recognised that this did not necessarily mean they had a reduced need for support, in fact they might require additional help in those subjects. The 16-19 Tuition Fund will have helped provide that support. It made available around £420 million additional funding between 2020/21 and 2023/24, with tutoring targeted towards students with low prior attainment and disadvantaged students.
In 2023, GCSE grading returned to pre-pandemic standards, which meant the proportion of 16-year-olds achieving a GCSE grade 4 and above in 2023 was similar to pre-pandemic levels.
The reduction in instances of low prior attainment arising from the GCSE results in 2020 and 2021 has fed into instances of funding for institutions to support low prior attaining students (Disadvantage Block 2) in 2022/23 and 2023/24. To address this issue, the department has increased the Disadvantage Block 2 rate for students with low prior attainment in mathematics or English from £480 in 2021/22, to £504 in allocations for the 2022/23 academic year and £559 for the 2023/24 academic year. This will mean that colleges have significantly more disadvantage funding to support these students than they would otherwise have received.
For the 2023/24 academic year the department has allocated a total of £592 million of disadvantage funding to eligible 16-19 institutions, to support students from disadvantaged economic backgrounds and those who have not yet attained a grade 9 to 4 GCSE or equivalent in mathematics and/or English.
In addition, for 2023/24 the department has allocated £41 million to support the delivery of mathematics and English to those students on substantial level 3 study programmes (including T Levels) who have not yet attained a grade 9 to 4 GCSE or equivalent in either or both of these subjects. In October 2023 the department announced that in future, students retaking English and mathematics GCSE while studying at level 2 or below will attract the same funding as those studying at level 3. This will significantly increase the funding available to institutions to support young people needing to continue with English and mathematics in 2024/25.
The funding to support disadvantage and English and mathematics is in addition to the January 2023 announcement that £125 million would be invested in 16-19 education for 2023/24 financial year, along with the July 2023 announcement of a further investment of £185 million in the 2023/24 financial year and £285 million in the 2024/25 financial year to drive forward skills delivery in the further education sector. These increases will help institutions to manage pressures during this year.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to update the information on their 'Capital funding for free schools, UTCs and studio schools' webpage; and why the webpage has not been updated since February 2020.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department publishes capital costs for all free schools on GOV.UK once all works have been completed and costs are finalised. Given that these can be large and complex projects, this can take some time between first opening and publication. A further batch of costs will be published in due course.
The department also publishes details of all free school construction contracts awarded over £10,000 on Contracts Finder at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search. In addition, information relating to sites and buildings acquired as part of the free schools programme can be found on the Land Registry. This includes the acquisition and sale price.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government which (1) age group, and (2) other demographic groups, left the teaching profession in the greatest numbers in each of the past five years.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information on the school workforce in England, including the number and characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity, working pattern and post) of teachers joining and leaving service nationally, is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
Leavers are defined as qualified teachers leaving the state funded sector in England, for example due to a change of career or joining other UK education sectors, and those leaving on career breaks such as maternity leave or secondments outside of the school sector. Some of these teachers may rejoin a state funded school in England at a later date.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that (1) teachers, and (2) schools, are supported to enable them to benefit from the provisions of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Department is taking action to ensure that both teachers and head teachers are supported to benefit from the provisions of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023.
The Department has published a collection of flexible working resources on GOV.UK, including non-statutory guidance and case studies. This collection will undergo development and the Department will ensure that resources are updated to provide practical support when the provisions of the Act take effect.
The Department is also funding support for teachers and head teachers. A culture change programme is being delivered, focusing on embedding flexible working in schools and multi-academy trusts. This includes the delivery of supportive webinars targeting both teachers and head teachers. The webinars include content focused on preparing for the legislative changes and on how to make a statutory request for flexible working. As part of this programme, the Department is also funding flexible working ambassador schools and multi-academy trusts to provide bespoke peer support to leaders in education. In June, seven new ambassadors were appointed and are currently in the process of recruiting more, building on the work of a previous cohort of ambassador schools.
The Department continues to work closely with the sector to identify and share examples of best practice and to determine how we can best target future support.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) support, and (2) guidance, they are offering to schools to enable them to maximise teacher retention.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Department’s reforms are aimed not only at increasing teacher recruitment in key subjects and areas, through an attractive pay offer and financial incentives such as bursaries, but also at ensuring teachers stay and succeed in the profession.
There are now over 468,000 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state funded schools in England, which is an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010. This makes it the highest FTE of teachers since the School Workforce Census began in 2010.
The Department accepted in full the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendations for the 2023/24 pay award for teachers and head teachers, resulting in a pay award of 6.5%. This is the highest for teachers in over thirty years.
To support retention in the first few years of teaching, the Department has rolled out the Early Career Framework nationally, providing the foundations for a successful career in teaching, with over £130 million a year in funding. Beyond these first few years, the Department’s priority is to help all teachers and head teachers to continuously develop their expertise throughout their careers so every child in every classroom in every school has the best start in life.
The Department has therefore launched a new and updated suite of National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) for teachers and head teachers at all levels, from those who want to develop expertise in high quality teaching practice to those leading multiple schools across trusts. Since autumn 2021, eligible teachers and head teachers have been able to access scholarships to undertake fully funded NPQs.
These measures will create a golden thread running from Initial Teacher Training through to school leadership and rooting teacher and head teacher development in the best available evidence.
The Department has also published a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing, and therefore support retention, including the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, which schools are being encouraged to sign up to as a shared commitment to promote staff wellbeing. Developed in partnership with the education sector and mental health experts, the Charter can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter.
Additionally, a workload reduction toolkit has been developed for schools alongside head teachers and has been published here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-workload-reduction-toolkit. On 13 July 2023, the Department also announced that it will convene a Workload Reduction Taskforce to explore how it can go further to support trusts and head teachers to minimise workload for teachers and head teachers by building on previous successes.
The Department is also taking action to promote flexible working in schools. The Department has published supportive resources on GOV.UK, including non statutory guidance and case studies: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/flexible-working-resources-for-teachers-and-schools#guidance-for-flexible-working.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government which applications for foundation body status made under the Education (Foundation Body) (England) Regulations 2000 have not resulted in the establishment of a foundation body.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Department is only aware of one foundation body established under Section 21 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. The Bourne Foundation was established as a body corporate in July 1999 under the Foundation Body Regulations 1999, which were in operation at the time. The Bourne Foundation was subsequently dissolved by Statutory Order, which came into force on 5 January 2017. There have been no applications for foundation body status made under the Education (Foundation Body) (England) Regulations 2000, which replaced the earlier 1999 regulations.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government which foundation bodies established under section 21 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 have now closed.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Department is only aware of one foundation body established under Section 21 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. The Bourne Foundation was established as a body corporate in July 1999 under the Foundation Body Regulations 1999, which were in operation at the time. The Bourne Foundation was subsequently dissolved by Statutory Order, which came into force on 5 January 2017. There have been no applications for foundation body status made under the Education (Foundation Body) (England) Regulations 2000, which replaced the earlier 1999 regulations.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government which foundation bodies have been established under section 21 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Department is only aware of one foundation body established under Section 21 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. The Bourne Foundation was established as a body corporate in July 1999 under the Foundation Body Regulations 1999, which were in operation at the time. The Bourne Foundation was subsequently dissolved by Statutory Order, which came into force on 5 January 2017. There have been no applications for foundation body status made under the Education (Foundation Body) (England) Regulations 2000, which replaced the earlier 1999 regulations.