Education: Return in January

Lucy Powell Excerpts

Wednesday 30th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

We are certainly always more than happy to look at different ways of being able to share as much information as possible with schools and communities about what best informs decisions. The Minister for School Standards, as I was about to leap to my feet, immediately wanted to meet my hon. Friend and her constituent, so I know that he will be organising that swiftly to be able to listen in greater detail to the thoughts and ideas not just about the current challenges that schools face, but about how we can continue to drive our reforms and improvements within the school system not just this year, but for decades into the future.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

Finally, the Secretary of State has come to Parliament to address the issues that have been swirling around everywhere over Christmas, which began with him ordering schools to go online for the first week of term on the last day of term, having taken legal action against councils that wanted to do the same thing only three days earlier. Today, he tells us that some primary schools will not open, but he has not actually published the list of those schools. This really now is a catalogue of incompetence from this Secretary of State. After months of our asking, he still has not answered the critical question of how the differential impact of missing school will be addressed, especially for the most disadvantaged. There has been no word on how exams this year can proceed on a level playing field, so if the test of his legacy is the attainment gap, I am afraid that it is one he is going to totally fail.

[Gavin Williamson]

It is always lovely to hear from the hon. Lady, and with such a festive backdrop behind her. Frankly, whatever we do, she will probably always be a little bit miserable about everything. We put in a £1 billion covid catch-up fund, making sure that we are supporting children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. We go above and beyond at every stage to ensure that children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds are given the most assistance. We on the Government side of the House have always understood that by actually preserving education, by making sure that children are in the position to be able to return to school at the earliest possible moment and to benefit from being in school, is the best way to give them the greatest advantages in life. I know the hon. Lady—it is not in her DNA to be able to give credit to any Government. I am not sure whether it would take £1 billion, £2 billion or £3 billion for her to acknowledge the fact that we are taking action.

Exams and Accountability 2021

Lucy Powell Excerpts

Thursday 3rd December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

We been working very closely with UCAS and Universities UK on this issue. Universities have been used to different systems. The Scottish system, for example, is different from the English system in terms of its grading, its curriculum and its qualification at the end. There has been divergence between Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England over the past few years. We are confident that, by giving clarity at this stage, including on the way that we will be grading and the generosity with which we will be grading, universities will best be able to adapt. We saw a record number of students going to university last year, and we will not be surprised to see a record number going to university next year as well.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

I still do not get how these proposals mitigate the effects of extended absence of teaching and learning. It is not just about the differential in lost schooling, which still is not resolved, but the differential impact that missing school has on some children—those unable to access learning, unable to cope, unable to engage and unable to thrive. The loss of six months and counting has massively widened the gap. Simply making the grades more generous for everyone equally does not deal with the widening and widened gap. Is it not the case that the Secretary of State’s dogmatic fixation with exams has blinkered him to solutions that would more effectively deal with the growing and widening gap and the impact of school absence?

[Gavin Williamson]

All the measures that we have undertaken have been aimed at supporting those children who have been most affected, but we have to understand that every child in this country has been affected by this pandemic, which is why we also need a national approach to support all children. We have created a system that supports those children who have suffered the most and makes sure that they are in the best position to focus their studies and their time on the areas that will deliver them the best results in terms of grading in August.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lucy Powell Excerpts

Monday 23rd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Nick Gibb]

The allocation is to schools that are not necessarily sending children home to self-isolate—that is to all schools, whether or not their pupils are self-isolating. We need to make sure that there is a computer—a laptop—for every disadvantaged pupil who does not have one who is self-isolating, and because we made that decision, we are able to ensure that every pupil in those circumstances will receive a computer. All they have to do is phone the Department for Education, and they will have the computer, if they fulfil the eligibility, within 48 hours of putting in that call.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

What steps he is taking to ensure that equal treatment is applied to all pupils undertaking exams and assessments in 2021 in response to variations in physical attendance at schools as a result of covid-19 outbreak.

[Ruth Cadbury (Brentford and Isleworth) (Lab)]

What steps he is taking to ensure the (a) effective and (b) accessible operation of GCSE and A-level exams in 2021.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister for School Standards (Nick Gibb)]

We are working with Ofqual and engaging widely with the education sector to identify risks to examinations at a national, local and individual level and to consider the measures needed to address any potential disruption. That could be a student unable to sit examinations or schools affected by a local outbreak. More details will be published shortly.

[Lucy Powell [V]]

GCSEs and A-levels are two-year courses. Most students have missed six months of in-school teaching for these courses. Ofsted has concluded that that has impacted on the disadvantaged the most, and significantly, in the three months since school has started, some students have missed even more, with high pupil and staff absences reflecting the high infection rates. That is particularly the case for the disadvantaged, those in the north and BME communities. How can any form of traditional exams be done on a level playing field, particularly for poorer kids in the north? Will the Minister be happy that the huge attainment gap that follows will be his personal legacy?

Students’ Return to Universities

Lucy Powell Excerpts

Tuesday 29th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

I pay tribute to those two great universities from Staffordshire, the University of Staffordshire and the University of Keele, for all they have done to give a warm welcome to all students and ensure that they can progress their life chances and have the opportunity to learn. We want all youngsters in all four nations of the United Kingdom to have that opportunity.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

What we have seen this week in two halls of residence in my constituency sums up everything that the Government are getting wrong in handling this crisis: no planning over the summer and no foresight, even though it was obvious that halls of residence would be the main area of risk; confused messages that even the Secretary of State’s own Ministers cannot keep track of, let alone 18-year-olds arriving in our city from different parts of the country; and a woeful lack of quick testing, which could have helped us to avoid this situation. When will his Government get a grip, especially of the testing regime, so that others do not have to face restrictions because he has lost control?

[Gavin Williamson]

The hon. Lady is probably aware that we are doing more tests a day than ever before: 225,000 tests every single day. We are increasing the testing capacity to 500,000 by the end of next month. We recognise that this has to be targeted in areas of high need, such as the areas the hon. Lady has highlighted, but we will be asking—[Interruption.] If the hon. Lady is going to ask questions, she may want to have the opportunity to hear the answers.

We are asking students, where they get tested and there is a positive test, to self-isolate and, as in the wider community, that the immediate contacts also self-isolate. However, we do recognise how important it is for universities to be able to provide support for those youngsters—I touched on this in my statement—with food and cleaning products, and other support that may be available. My hon. Friend the Universities Minister spoke to the vice-chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan just yesterday, making clear our offer of support—we are there, standing behind universities and helping them to support their students—which is so critical. I know that is a view both the hon. Lady and I share.

Schools and Colleges: Qualification Results and Full Opening

Lucy Powell Excerpts

Tuesday 1st September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

My right hon. Friend makes an important point about how this is not just about IT; it is about ensuring that youngsters are supported at home in their learning and that can be done through so many means other than just through a laptop. However, we have made the commitment of rolling out and increasing the purchase of laptops by another 150,000 to ensure that, where communities are in local lockdown, schools who have children from the most deprived backgrounds have access to that resource. But that has to be an absolute last course of action we take, because we know that nothing substitutes for the learning a child gets through being in the classroom with their teachers and being inspired by those teachers, who are giving the enthusiasm to learn. That is why this Government will do absolutely everything they can do to ensure that schools remain open at every stage of our response to dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

I am afraid that this is just not good enough; the Secretary of State cannot wash his hands of responsibility for this summer’s fiasco. I am afraid that it is worse than incompetence; it stems from his Government’s obsession with testing and grade inflation, and their profound aversion to teacher assessment and coursework. So does he not agree that these are political, ministerial decisions, not bureaucracy? When will he take responsibility?

[Gavin Williamson]

I hate to remind the hon. Lady, but a Labour and Lib Dem Administration in Wales took the exact same policy decision on moderated grades, because of a belief that this was the fairest approach to ensure that there was a good standard of assessment and that youngsters got the grades they had worked for over the previous 11 or 13 years.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lucy Powell Excerpts

Monday 20th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Nick Gibb]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend’s commitment to the schools in his constituency and his support for the Gatwick School in particular. As he said, the Gatwick School opened in 2014 and is providing good school places in Crawley, with its EBacc entry level significantly above the national average, for example. Officials are engaged in the planning process to achieve permission from Crawley Borough Council, which will enable us to deliver the permanent school accommodation and facilities for pupils.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

In those conversations with local authorities, will the Minister also talk to them about current children’s social services practice to make sure that the deep lessons of the Greater Manchester review are learned and that practice is changed so that vulnerable children never again have wrong assumptions made about them?

[Nick Gibb]

The hon. Member will be aware of the review of children in need. It highlights the importance of schools being aware of those children who are known to social workers and who have particular problems so that we can make sure that they get pastoral support in school and that expectations remain as high for them as for other pupils in the school.