Lord Watson of Wyre Forest: DfE: Written Answers (77)

Written Question

Children: Obesity

Wednesday 21st February 2018

Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps his Department has taken to tackle obesity levels in children in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

Answered by Nadhim Zahawi

Through the primary physical education (PE) and sport premium, the government has invested over £600 million of ring-fenced funding to primary schools to improve PE and sport since 2013. The government has doubled the premium to £320 million a year from September 2017, using revenue from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy.

£100 million of revenue generated from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy will be used for the Healthy Pupils Capital Fund in 2018-19. This fund is intended to improve children’s and young people’s physical and mental health by enhancing access to facilities for physical activity, healthy eating, mental health and wellbeing and medical conditions. These facilities include kitchens, dining facilities, changing rooms, playgrounds and sports facilities.

We are investing a further £26 million in a breakfast club programme, over the next three years, using funds from Soft Drinks Industry Levy revenues. This money will kick-start or improve breakfast clubs in at least 1,500 schools, with a focus on increasing provision for disadvantaged pupils in Opportunity Areas. The programme will also deliver innovation projects, with the aim of testing solutions to delivery and access barriers, and enhancing the health and education benefits.

Written Question

Drama: GCSE

Thursday 14th December 2017

Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether students who take drama as a GCSE subject perform better against the Attainment 8 measure than students who do not take drama as a GCSE subject.

Answered by Nick Gibb

The average Attainment 8[1] scores of pupils in state funded schools[2], at the end of key stage 4[3], split by whether they entered a GCSE or equivalent qualification in drama[4], are presented in the tables below.

Academic year 2016/17[5]
	Total pupils	Average Attainment 8 score
Pupils not entering drama	471,987	45.7
Pupils entering drama	56,523	49.1

Academic year 2015/16⁵
	Total pupils	Average Attainment 8 score
Pupils not entering drama	478,494	49.6
Pupils entering drama	61,781	53.0

Attainment 8 is a new measure which schools and pupils are still adjusting to and with the ongoing transition to reformed GCSEs, it is expected that Attainment 8 scores will be prone to fluctuations initially. Attainment 8 is comprised of a selection of a pupil’s grades and may not include any drama qualifications they have sat, therefore it is not possible to unpick which, if any, factors have a definitive influence on these scores. With data for only two years, it is too soon to draw conclusions. More information on Attainment 8 is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/659860/Secondary_accountability_measures_guide.pdf.
State-funded schools include academies, free schools, city technology colleges, further education colleges with provision for 14- to 16-year-olds and state-funded special schools. They exclude independent schools, independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, hospital schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision.
Pupils are identified as being at the end of key stage 4 if they were on roll at the school and in year 11 at the time of the January school census for that year. Age is calculated as at 31 August for that year, and the majority of pupils at the end of key stage 4 were age 15 at the start of the academic year. Some pupils may complete this key stage in an earlier or later year group.
Pupils are recorded as ‘entering drama’ if they sat at least one exam in any drama qualification which is counted in the secondary school performance tables as a GCSE, equivalent or graded drama qualification.
2015/16 data is final; 2016/17 data is provisional.

Written Question

Arts: GCSE

Thursday 14th December 2017

Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students took (a) music, (b) art, (c) drama and (d) dance GCSE in each region of England in each of the last three academic years for which figures are available.

Answered by Nick Gibb

The number of pupils in state-funded schools, at the end of key stage 4[1], who entered[2] music, art, drama or dance at GCSE level (including equivalents)[3] by region are attached.

[1] Pupils are identified as being at the end of key stage 4 if they were on roll at the school and in year 11 at the time of the January school census for that year. Age is calculated as at 31 August for that year, and the majority of pupils at the end of key stage 4 were age 15 at the start of the academic year. Some pupils may complete this key stage in an earlier or later year group.

[2] In line with secondary performance measures and early entry policy, discounting has been applied. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-4-qualifications-discount-codes-and-point-scores.

[3] Includes GCSE full courses, level 2 equivalents, GCSE double awards and AS levels.

Written Question

Drama: GCSE

Thursday 14th December 2017

Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether students who take drama as a GCSE subject perform better against the Progress 8 measure than students who do not take drama as a GCSE subject.

Answered by Nick Gibb

Pupils who take drama have higher progress 8 scores. This may not be the result of taking drama and may be the result of taking more GCSEs. The average progress 8[1] scores of pupils in state funded schools[2], at the end of key stage 4[3], split by whether they entered a GCSE or equivalent qualification in drama[4], are presented in the tables below.

.Academic year 2016/17[5]
	Total pupils	Average Progress 8 score	Lower confidence interval[6]	Upper confidence interval⁷
Pupils not entering drama	445,551	-0.05	-0.06	-0.05
Pupils entering drama	54,070	0.15	0.14	0.16

Academic year 2015/16⁵
	Total pupils	Average Progress 8 score	Lower confidence interval⁶	Upper confidence interval⁶
Pupils not entering drama	452,823	-0.05	-0.06	-0.05
Pupils entering drama	59,230	0.15	0.14	0.15

Progress 8 is a new measure which schools and pupils are still adjusting to and with the ongoing transition to reformed GCSE’s, it is expected that Progress 8 scores will be prone to fluctuations initially. Progress 8 is a measure which focuses on each pupil’s ‘starting point’ (key stage 2 attainment) and the progress they make, therefore more analysis is required to unpick which, if any, factors have a definitive influence on these scores. With data for only two years, it is too soon to draw conclusions. More information on Progress 8 is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/659860/Secondary_accountability_measures_guide.pdf.
State-funded schools include academies, free schools, city technology colleges, further education colleges with provision for 14- to 16-year-olds and state-funded special schools. They exclude independent schools, independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, hospital schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision.
Pupils are identified as being at the end of key stage 4 if they were on roll at the school and in year 11 at the time of the January school census for that year. Age is calculated as at 31 August for that year, and the majority of pupils at the end of key stage 4 were age 15 at the start of the academic year. Some pupils may complete this key stage in an earlier or later year group.
Pupils are recorded as ‘entering drama’ if they sat at least one exam in any drama qualification which is counted in the secondary school performance tables as a GCSE, equivalent or graded drama qualification.
2015/16 data is final; 2016/17 data is provisional.
Progress 8 scores are estimates and the confidence intervals provide the likely bounds of the true score. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/659860/Secondary_accountability_measures_guide.pdf. There are also significantly fewer pupils entering drama than those who do not, this can lead to undue influence by outliers in the smaller cohort and it is not advised to draw definitive conclusions when the data is mismatched in this way.

Written Question

Music: GCSE

Wednesday 29th November 2017

Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether students taking music as a GCSE subject perform better overall in the Attainment 8 measure.

Answered by Nick Gibb

The average Attainment 8[1] scores of pupils in state funded schools[2], at the end of key stage 4[3], split by whether they entered a GCSE or equivalent[4] qualification in music[5], are presented in the tables below.

Academic year 2016/17[6]
	Total pupils	Average Attainment 8 score
Pupils not entering music⁴	486,983	45.5
Pupils entering music⁴	41,527	52.7

Academic year 2015/16⁶
	Total pupils	Average Attainment 8 score
Pupils not entering music⁴	495,072	49.4
Pupils entering music⁴	45,203	55.8

Differences in Attainment 8 scores occur for a number of reasons. These include the prior attainment of pupils (which is controlled for in the Progress 8 measure) and the number of GCSEs taken by pupils (pupils taking more qualifications are more likely to obtain a higher score and pupils taking more qualifications are more likely to take music). The response to PQ 115227 includes more detail about the Progress 8 measure for pupils who take a music GCSE.

Attainment 8 is a new measure which schools and pupils are still adjusting to and with the ongoing transition to reformed GCSEs, it is expected that Attainment 8 scores will be prone to fluctuations initially. Attainment 8 is comprised of a selection of a pupil’s grades and may not include any music qualifications they have sat, therefore it is not possible to unpick which, if any, factors have a definitive influence on these scores. With data for only two years, it is too soon to draw conclusions. More information on Attainment 8 is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/659860/Secondary_accountability_measures_guide.pdf.
State-funded schools include academies, free schools, city technology colleges, further education colleges with provision for 14- to 16-year-olds and state-funded special schools. They exclude independent schools, independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, hospital schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision.
Pupils are identified as being at the end of key stage 4 if they were on roll at the school and in year 11 at the time of the January school census for that year. Age is calculated as at 31 August for that year, and the majority of pupils at the end of key stage 4 were age 15 at the start of the academic year. Some pupils may complete this key stage in an earlier or later year group.
Also includes entries in graded music qualifications.
Pupils are recorded as ‘entering music’ if they sat at least one exam in any music qualification which is counted in the secondary school performance tables as a GCSE, equivalent or graded music qualification.
2015/16 data is final; 2016/17 data is provisional.

Written Question

Music: GCSE

Tuesday 28th November 2017

Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether students taking music as a GCSE subject perform better overall in the Progress 8 measure.

Answered by Nick Gibb

Pupils who take music have higher progress 8 scores. This may not be the result of taking music and may be the result of taking more GCSEs.

The average progress 8[1] scores of pupils in state funded schools[2], at the end of key stage 4[3], split by whether they entered a GCSE or equivalent[4] qualification in music[5], are presented in the tables below.

Academic year 2016/17[6]
	Total pupils	Average Progress 8 score	Lower confidence interval[7]	Upper confidence interval⁷
Pupils not entering music⁵	460,593	-0.05	-0.05	-0.05
Pupils entering music⁵	39,028	0.21	0.20	0.22

Academic year 2015/16⁶
	Total pupils	Average Progress 8 score	Lower confidence interval⁷	Upper confidence interval⁷
Pupils not entering music⁵	469,513	-0.05	-0.05	-0.05
Pupils entering music⁵	42,540	0.18	0.17	0.19

Progress 8 is a new measure which schools and pupils are still adjusting to and with the ongoing transition to reformed GCSE’s, it is expected that Progress 8 scores will be prone to fluctuations initially. Progress 8 is a measure which focuses on each pupil’s ‘starting point’ (key stage 2 attainment) and the progress they make, therefore more analysis is required to unpick which, if any, factors have a definitive influence on these scores. With data for only two years, it is too soon to draw conclusions. More information on Progress 8 is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/659860/Secondary_accountability_measures_guide.pdf.
State-funded schools include academies, free schools, city technology colleges, further education colleges with provision for 14- to 16-year-olds and state-funded special schools. They exclude independent schools, independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, hospital schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision.
Pupils are identified as being at the end of key stage 4 if they were on roll at the school and in year 11 at the time of the January school census for that year. Age is calculated as at 31 August for that year, and the majority of pupils at the end of key stage 4 were age 15 at the start of the academic year. Some pupils may complete this key stage in an earlier or later year group.
Includes entries in graded music qualifications.
Pupils are recorded as ‘entering music’ if they sat at least one exam in any music qualification which is counted in the secondary school performance tables as a GCSE, equivalent or graded music qualification.
2015/16 data is final; 2016/17 data is provisional.
Progress 8 scores are estimates and the confidence intervals provide the likely bounds of the true score. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/659860/Secondary_accountability_measures_guide.pdf. There are also significantly fewer pupils entering music than those who do not, this can lead to undue influence by outliers in the smaller cohort and it is not advised to draw definitive conclusions when the data is mismatched in this way.

Written Question

ICT: GCSE

Friday 27th October 2017

Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students were entered for a GCSE in (a) Computer Science or (b) Information Technology in each of the last four years.

Answered by Nick Gibb

The proportion of all pupils[1] [2], who were at the end of key stage 4, who entered for (a) Computer Science and (b) Information Technology are attached.

The proportion of all pupils[1] [2], who were at the end of key stage 4, not eligible for free school meals[3] and were entered for a GCSE in Information Technology are attached.

Pupil characteristics information will be published, for the year 2016/17, in January 2018.

Based on pupils at the end of key stage 4, who sat an exam in GCSE (excluding equivalents) in Computer Science or Information Technology. Pupils are identified as being at the end of key stage 4 if they were on roll at the school and in year 11 at the time of the January school census for that year. Age is calculated as at 31 August for that year, and the majority of pupils at the end of key stage 4 were age 15 at the start of the academic year. Some pupils may complete this key stage in an earlier or later year group.
On roll at a state-funded school which includes academies, free schools, city technology colleges, further education colleges with provision for 14- to 16-year-olds (further education sector colleges were included in secondary school performance tables from 2015) and state-funded special schools. They exclude independent schools, independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, hospital schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision.
As recorded in the school census for that year. Includes pupils not eligible for free school meals (FSM) and for whom FSM eligibility was unclassified or could not be determined.

Written Question

ICT: GCSE

Friday 27th October 2017

Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students not in receipt of free school meals were entered for a GCSE Information Technology in each of the last four years.

Answered by Nick Gibb

The proportion of all pupils[1] [2], who were at the end of key stage 4, who entered for (a) Computer Science and (b) Information Technology are attached.

The proportion of all pupils[1] [2], who were at the end of key stage 4, not eligible for free school meals[3] and were entered for a GCSE in Information Technology are attached.

Pupil characteristics information will be published, for the year 2016/17, in January 2018.

Based on pupils at the end of key stage 4, who sat an exam in GCSE (excluding equivalents) in Computer Science or Information Technology. Pupils are identified as being at the end of key stage 4 if they were on roll at the school and in year 11 at the time of the January school census for that year. Age is calculated as at 31 August for that year, and the majority of pupils at the end of key stage 4 were age 15 at the start of the academic year. Some pupils may complete this key stage in an earlier or later year group.
On roll at a state-funded school which includes academies, free schools, city technology colleges, further education colleges with provision for 14- to 16-year-olds (further education sector colleges were included in secondary school performance tables from 2015) and state-funded special schools. They exclude independent schools, independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, hospital schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision.
As recorded in the school census for that year. Includes pupils not eligible for free school meals (FSM) and for whom FSM eligibility was unclassified or could not be determined.

Written Question

ICT: GCSE

Tuesday 24th October 2017

Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students in receipt of free school meals were entered for a GCSE in information technology in each of the last four years.

Answered by Nick Gibb

The proportion of pupils [1], [2] entered for GCSE Computer Science who were not eligible for free school meals (FSM) [3] are attached.

The proportion of pupils [1], [2] entered for GCSE Information Technology who were eligible for FSM [3] are attached.

Pupil characteristics information will be published, for the year 2016/17, in January 2018.

[1] On roll at a state-funded school which includes academies, free schools, city technology colleges, further education colleges with provision for 14- to 16-year-olds (further education sector colleges were included in secondary school performance tables from 2015) and state-funded special schools. They exclude independent schools, independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, hospital schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision.

[2] On roll at a state-funded school which includes academies, free schools, city technology colleges, further education colleges with provision for 14- to 16-year-olds (further education sector colleges were included in secondary school performance tables from 2015) and state-funded special schools. They exclude independent schools, independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, hospital schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision.

[3] As recorded in the school census for that year.

Written Question

ICT: GCSE

Tuesday 24th October 2017

Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students not in receipt of free school meals were entered for a GCSE in computer science in each of the last four years.

Answered by Nick Gibb

The proportion of pupils [1], [2] entered for GCSE Computer Science who were not eligible for free school meals (FSM) [3] are attached.

The proportion of pupils [1], [2] entered for GCSE Information Technology who were eligible for FSM [3] are attached.

Pupil characteristics information will be published, for the year 2016/17, in January 2018.

[3] As recorded in the school census for that year.

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