Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average waiting time between requesting an assessment and an Education, Health and Care Plan being issued; which local authorities have the longest assessment, planning and review processing times for these plans; and what plans they have, if any, to change statutory timelines for the delivery of these plans.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND) Regulations 2014 set out that the local authority must, unless certain specified exemptions apply, finalise the education, health and care (EHC) plan within 20 weeks of the local authority receiving a request for an assessment. 62,200 new EHC plans were issued during 2021, an increase of 3% compared to the previous year, and 59.9% of the EHC plans were issued within the statutory 20 weeks.
The department does not collect data on the average waiting times for EHC plans, but instead collect and publish data on the number and percentage of EHC plans issued within 20 weeks at the local authority level, both including and excluding exceptions. From this data, the department cannot establish which local authorities have the longest average waiting times.
In March 2022, we published the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper, which sets out our proposals to ensure that every child and young person has their needs identified quickly and their needs met consistently. The department proposes to improve families’ experiences of the EHC plan process by introducing standardised and digitised EHC plans. The department is committed to publishing a full response to the SEND and AP Green Paper in an improvement plan early in 2023.
The department will continue to support the system in the immediate term to continue to improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people with SEND and those who need AP.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government hat assessment they have made of whether initial teacher training (ITT) applications this year, particularly for (1) physics, (2) computing, and (3) modern languages, are sufficient for secondary school recruitment requirements; whether they estimate an increase in the shortage of qualified teachers; and if so, what steps they are taking to address the shortage.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Departmental targets, as estimated by the Teacher Workforce Model (TWM), are for 20,945 secondary teacher trainees to start their initial teacher training (ITT) in autumn 2022 (including high performance ITT (HPITT) trainees)[1]. Currently, there have been 10,106 acceptances to postgraduate secondary courses in England, (excluding HPITT acceptances)[2].
The computing TWM trainee target is 1,145 (including HPITT) and currently there have been 264 acceptances (excluding HPITT).
The modern foreign languages TWM trainee target is 2,140 (including HPITT) and currently there have been 618 acceptances (excluding HPITT).
The physics TWM trainee target is 2,610 (including HPITT) and currently there have been 361 acceptances (excluding HPITT).
The department has put in place a range of measures for trainees in 2021 and 2022, including bursaries worth up to £24,000 and scholarships worth up to £26,000, to encourage talented trainees to apply to train in key subjects such as chemistry, computing, mathematics, and physics. The department is offering a £15,000 bursary in design and technology, geography, and languages, including ancient languages, and a £10,000 bursary for biology trainees.
The department is exploring new ways to recruit trainee teachers in subjects where there is a shortage. For example, we will introduce a new scholarship to attract the most talented language graduates to the profession. We are also piloting a new ITT course designed to support more engineers to teach physics. The course is being delivered by six providers, each of whom have been supported with grant funding from the department.
To make teaching here even more attractive to the best teachers from around the world, the department will introduce a new relocation premium to help with visas and other expenses.
[1] Postgraduate initial teacher training targets: 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
[2] Acceptances- up to 20th June 2022 excluding HPITT (sum of recruited and pending conditions), Initial teacher training application statistics for courses starting in the 2022 to 2023 academic year - Apply for teacher training - GOV.UK (apply-for-teacher-training.service.gov.uk)
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support young people already affected by the cost of living crisis; and what steps they are taking to ensure that a university education does not become increasingly unaffordable for future generations of young people.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We are freezing maximum tuition fees for the 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. By the 2024/25 academic year, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven years, meaning reduced debt for students in real terms.
Maximum grants and loans for living costs were increased by 3.1% this academic year, and we have announced that they will increase by a further 2.3% next year. We are also reforming student loans so new borrowers starting from the 2023/24 academic year onwards will not, under the new terms, be required to repay more than they have borrowed when adjusted for inflation.
The department has secured up to £75 million to deliver a National Scholarship Scheme which will support high achieving disadvantaged students to reach their full potential whilst studying in higher education. This scholarship aims to address the ongoing financial barriers that can restrict high achieving, disadvantaged students from achieving their full academic potential whilst studying in higher education and is in addition to the significant sector interventions already in place.
From 2025, we will revolutionise post-18 education by rolling out the Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE). The LLE will help fund both modules and full years of study, in colleges or universities, at a higher technical and degree level. People will be able to upskill and reskill throughout their lives, at the pace that is right for them. Our consultation on the LLE concluded on the 6 May.
In our guidance to the Office for Students (OfS) on funding for the 2021/22 financial year we made clear that the OfS should protect the £256 million allocation for the student premiums to support disadvantaged students and those that need additional help. The 2022/23 financial year guidance to the OfS confirms universities will continue to be able to support students in hardship through the student premium. Ministers’ Strategic Priorities Grant guidance letter to the OfS asks that the OfS looks to protect the student premium in cash terms for 2022/23.
Alongside this, the government is also making available discretionary funding of £144 million to support vulnerable people and individuals on low incomes, including students, to support those ineligible for council tax. The government recognises many households will need support to deal with rising energy costs, and has therefore announced a package of support to help households with rising energy bills, worth £9.1 billion in the 2022/23 financial year. This includes a £200 discount on energy bills this autumn for domestic electricity customers in Great Britain, which will be paid back automatically over the next five years.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Children's Commissioner for England report Where are England’s Children? Interim findings from the Children’s Commissioner’s Attendance Audit, published on 9 March, what steps they plan to take to identify (1) how many children are currently missing from school, (2) why some pupils have never returned to school following the (a) 2020, and (b) 2021, lockdowns, and (3) those children who are most at risk of falling through the gaps in education.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department welcomes the recent report into children regularly missing school from the Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel De Souza. Regular attendance at school is vital for children’s education, wellbeing, and long-term development.
Detailed pupil absence data is collected as part of the school census and published on a termly basis and the latest statistics will be published later this week. All absence data for England, including data at regional and local authority level, is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/.
The department has also recently launched a new live attendance data pilot which will help us identify and support schools where pupils are not regularly attending, and improve the flow of data between schools, academy trusts and local authorities.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, recently established an alliance of national leaders from education, children’s social care and allied services to work together to raise school attendance and reduce persistent absence. The Attendance Action Alliance has pledged to take a range of actions to remove barriers preventing children attending school. More information on the Alliance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/education-secretary-launches-new-attendance-alliance.
The department has also committed to a register for children not in school as part of our response to consultation. This will help local authorities undertake their existing duties to ensure children receive a suitable education and help safeguard all children who are in scope.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the possible number of appeals to Teacher Assessed Grades by (1) A-Level, and (2) GCSE, students this summer; and what steps they have taken to ensure processes and resources are in place to deal with such appeals in a timely manner.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
Centres will be expected to allow students to see the evidence used to determine their grade in advance of that grade being submitted. This, along with the internal and external quality assurance processes and the guidance provided to teachers, should ensure students can have confidence in their grades which will reduce the number of instances in which students need to appeal.
The Department is unable to estimate the exact number of appeals in advance, we have and will continue to work with awarding bodies to ensure they are prepared to respond to a range of scenarios in dealing with any appeals that arise. A clear process will be in place for students who wish to appeal their grade, and we have also been clear that appeals for those students whose higher education places are dependent on the outcome of an appeal should, as far as possible, be concluded in early September. Further guidance on the appeals process will be published in due course.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reform the adoption process to safely manage potential early contact between adopted children and their birth families, in view of the increased opportunities for such contact created by social media.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
Local authorities have a legal duty to provide a comprehensive adoption service.
This specifically includes “Assistance, including mediation services, in relation to arrangements for contact between an adoptive child and a natural parent, natural sibling, former guardian or a related person of the adoptive child”.
We will be working with local authorities and regional adoption agencies to improve support around contact with birth relatives, including that which has started via social media.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many independent schools have (1) withdrawn, or (2) announced their intention to withdraw, from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, since the September 2019 announcement of an increase in required employer contributions.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
163 independent schools withdrew from the England and Wales Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) between September 2019 and 30 April 2021. 59 independent schools withdrew from the TPS prior to September 2019, following confirmation of the increased employer contribution rate in April 2019.
A further 23 independent schools have provided notice of leaving the TPS which has not yet taken effect.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what contingency planning they undertook between August 2020 and January 2021 to prepare for the possibility that A-Level and GCSE examinations might be cancelled in 2021.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
It was right that the department planned for exams to go ahead because they are the fairest method of assessing what students know and can do. Despite education remaining a national priority, the department remained conscious that the course of the virus and the subsequent extent of necessary public health restrictions would be unknown. We therefore worked closely with Ofqual and the exam boards to plan for a range of scenarios between August 2020 and January 2021. This allowed the department to launch the joint Department for Education and Ofqual consultation on alternative arrangements to exams on 15 January, soon after my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State’s statement to the house on 6 January that, given the further disruption to education, exams could not go ahead as planned.
The department has now confirmed further details on alternative arrangements to exams, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/awarding-qualifications-in-summer-2021/awarding-qualifications-in-summer-2021.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19 in (a) primary, and (b) secondary, schools, (2) to ensure such schools are COVID-19 secure, and (3) to expedite the safe re-opening of such schools.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The department has worked closely with other government departments throughout its response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), as well as stakeholders across the sector, to ensure that our policy is based on the latest scientific and medical advice, to develop comprehensive guidance based on a PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’ and to understand the impact and effectiveness of these measures on staff, pupils and parents.
The system of control measures as outlined in our guidance has been developed with PHE, with whom we continue to work closely to ensure that these measures are based on the latest medical and scientific advice: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/952443/210114_School_national_restrictions_guidance_FINAL_14012021.pdf.
When implemented in line with a thorough risk assessment, these measures create an inherently safer system for staff and pupils where the risk of transmission of the infection is substantially reduced. For example, this includes important measures such as, but not limited to, minimising contact with individuals who are not well, maintaining social distancing wherever possible, regularly cleaning hands and introducing enhanced cleaning measures, as well as the use of personal protective equipment where recommended. All elements of the system of controls are essential in effectively minimising risks. Schools must cover them all, but the way different schools implement some of the requirements will differ based on their individual circumstances. PHE advises that the implementation of the system of controls based on a thorough risk assessment is a sufficient and appropriate way to reduce risk in schools.
Limiting attendance does not suggest that schools and colleges have become significantly less safe for young people. Instead, limiting attendance is about supporting the reduction of the overall number of social contacts in our communities. We have resisted restrictions on attendance at schools since the first lockdown but, in the face of the rapidly rising numbers of cases across the country and intense pressure on the NHS, we now need to use every lever at our disposal to reduce all our social contacts wherever possible.
We know that receiving face to face education is best for children’s mental health and for their educational achievement. We will continue to review the restrictions on schools, colleges and universities and will ensure that children and young people return to face to face education as soon as possible.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the decision by the Welsh Government has now cancelled A-level exams in summer 2021 and base grades on school assessment, what steps they intend to take to ensure that there is a level playing field for university admission in the UK in 2021.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As autonomous institutions, higher education providers determine their own entry criteria. In making admissions decisions, we would expect providers to take into account variations across the UK in examination systems and types of qualification, as they have for many years.
We have been working closely with Ofqual, the devolved administrations, and partners across the education sector on all decisions relating to examinations and qualifications in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Higher Education Taskforce, chaired by my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, provides a forum for discussion with sector representatives on a range of issues, including admissions, and we are working with the sector on the challenges which universities, colleges, and students are facing due to the pandemic.
We shall continue to engage with partners across the education sector on the measures needed to ensure that exams can be held in England, and on the issue of grading, with fairness for students as our priority.