Free Schools (Funding)

Debate between Lord Gove and Philip Hollobone

Monday 12th May 2014 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. We have increased the amount available for new primary school places in Reading from £8.3 million under the previous Government to £34.7 million under this Government. He also gives me the opportunity to say that in addition to the new school provision offered by free schools, university technical colleges are providing parents with high-quality options and choice at the age of 14. Let me take this opportunity to thank Lord Adonis and Lord Baker for the leadership they have shown at the head of the university technical college programme.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

May I thank the Secretary of State for his role in securing the provision of an extra 2,660 primary school places in Northamptonshire since 2010 and congratulate him on securing the funding massively to increase this programme so that an additional 4,490 primary school places will be provided by 2016?

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. He, like me, is a hawk on public expenditure, but by making savings elsewhere we can invest more in primary school places where they are needed. He is right that investment in primary school places in Northamptonshire has increased: it was £29 million under the previous Government and in the equivalent period under this Government it has gone up to £55 million.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Gove and Philip Hollobone

Monday 6th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

Without knowing the specifics of the case to which the hon. Gentleman alludes, I am cautious about venturing into too much detail. Whenever any school enters difficulties, whether it is run by an academy chain or a local authority, the Department for Education is always ready to ensure that an appropriate sponsor is in place to rescue that school.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

How many academies were there in May 2010, how many are there now and what has been the improvement in educational attainment as a result?

[Michael Gove]

There were just over 200 academies in May 2010—203, I believe—and there are now more than 3,000. As Ofsted reported in its most recent annual report, the biggest increase in the quality of good and outstanding lessons ever in the history of the inspectorate has occurred under this Government.

PISA Results

Debate between Lord Gove and Philip Hollobone

Tuesday 3rd December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes a characteristically well-informed point. One of the revealing things over the past 50 minutes or so is that some Labour MPs have been wise enough to acknowledge that there is a great deal of common ground between both parties on the need to reform our schools system, but those Labour MPs who have asked critical questions have criticised us on only one thing and they have used statistics that, I am afraid, simply mislead.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

In maths, science and reading, Poland is at least 10 places above us in the international league tables. Does Poland spend more than us on education? If not, what is it doing that we could emulate?

[Michael Gove]

Poland does not spend more than us; indeed, Vietnam, which outperforms us in mathematics, spends significantly less than us. What they do have is a commitment to higher standards that are rigorously policed. Poland’s curriculum is modelled on, or is similar to, our English baccalaureate. Both Vietnam and Poland have a determination to place standards on a higher plane than those on the Opposition Front Bench would contemplate.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Gove and Philip Hollobone

Monday 11th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The right hon. Gentleman is quite correct. That is quite a convenient way of trying to keep onside when time is pressing.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Is it appropriate for either teachers or pupils to wear the full-face veil in the classroom, and if the answer is no, what regulations are in place to proscribe the wearing of such?

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend raises a very important point. Matters of school uniform are rightly questions that head teachers should decide on, or college principals should be responsible for. I hope it is clear that the wearing of any item that impedes effective teaching or effective learning is something that we should all ensure does not happen in the classroom. I am working with both the chief inspector of schools and officials within the Department for Education in order to ensure that schools and individuals receive an unambiguous message about the vital importance of ensuring that cultural or other barriers do not impede the capacity to learn of children from whatever community.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Gove and Philip Hollobone

Monday 9th September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for directing me towards the Family Action report, which I found interesting and sometimes sobering reading. The report identified 13 schools; they are not a representative sample. Those with the most significant additional costs for uniform tended to be voluntary aided schools rather than academies or free schools. There is no evidence that academies or free schools impose any additional uniform costs over maintained schools and there is no evidence that the overall increase in uniform costs has run out of kilter with other costs that families face. However, the Department is renewing its guidance to make sure that schools make the right choice for parents.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that it is particularly exciting for the academy programme when primary and secondary schools are brought together in the same academy structure, such as the Montsaye academy in Rothwell and the Kettering Buccleuch and Kettering Science academies in Kettering itself?

National Curriculum

Debate between Lord Gove and Philip Hollobone

Monday 8th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My position on sex and relationship education is that I am in favour of it.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

What emphasis will there be on spelling in the national curriculum, and by what age will primary school children be required to learn their 12 times table?

[Michael Gove]

The 12 times table will be required by the end of year 4, which is a significant advance on where we are at the moment, and there are indicative tables as part of the national curriculum document that lay out how we can ensure that students can spell. I should also say that, on a recent primary school visit that I undertook, I asked the students whether they had enjoyed their national curriculum tests. The universal view was that the tests were fun, but the most fun were the spelling, punctuation and grammar tests that this Government have introduced.

GCSEs

Debate between Lord Gove and Philip Hollobone

Tuesday 11th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

It would be a pleasure.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

The English language, used right around the world, is perhaps the greatest export from these islands, but one of the knock-on effects is that, despite the best efforts of colleges with specialist language expertise, such as the Montsaye academy trust in Rothwell in my constituency, as a nation we do not teach modern languages as successfully as we might. Against that background, why will modern languages be in the second wave of these reforms, not the first?

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. It is simply that there are some quite difficult issues to deal with when it comes to finding exactly the right way to ensure that speaking and listening skills, in particular, are properly assessed, but I absolutely agree with him that we need to do more to encourage the take-up of languages. Unfortunately, it dipped under Labour; it is now increasing, thanks to the changes that we have made with the English baccalaureate measure.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Gove and Philip Hollobone

Monday 21st January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

1. What proportion of secondary school pupils are taught in academies in (a) the borough of Kettering, (b) Northamptonshire and (c) England.

[The Secretary of State for Education (Michael Gove)]

On behalf of the whole House, may I take this opportunity to congratulate you, Mr Speaker, on your 50th birthday on Saturday? On behalf of the whole House, I hope that it was a festive weekend in the Speaker’s household.

There are 2,619 academies in England. Over half of state-funded secondary schools are now open as academies or have applied for academy status. In Kettering, 85% of secondary school-age pupils are taught in academies; in Northamptonshire overall the figure is 75%; and in England it is 52%.

[Mr Hollobone]

My constituents are delighted that five of our six secondary schools have now become academies. Will my right hon. Friend kindly agree to visit Kettering to see for himself how the lives of young people are being transformed and their educational development is being enhanced by this exciting Government initiative?

[Michael Gove]

It would be a pleasure to visit Kettering. I am delighted at the progress that has been made in Northamptonshire. A wide range of academy sponsors have helped to ensure that children—not just in my hon. Friend’s constituency but across the county—are at last enjoying the education they deserve.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Gove and Philip Hollobone

Monday 27th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

It is the judgment of Solomon, is it not? We must ensure that decaying fabric is repaired, but we must also provide high-quality school places. It is not enough simply to invest in existing schools which may or may not be providing high-quality education; it is also critical that we provide a gateway for people who are going to raise the quality of state education through innovative new ways of helping children to do better.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

17. What steps he has taken to offer guidance to the parents, pupils, governors and teachers of (a) Wilbarston Church of England primary school in Kettering constituency and (b) other schools in England on becoming an academy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Gove and Philip Hollobone

Monday 21st November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

All schools that have become academies have the chance to spend their money directly on the priorities that are close to them. Obviously every school will have different funding results over the next four years, but, overall, cash spending on schools is protected, and schools should also benefit from the pupil premium.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

The IFS report sets education spending in the context of the national economy as a whole. Will the Secretary of State remind the House of the comparator between the size of the education budget each year and the size of the net annual debt interest bill left to this country by the Labour party?

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend has made another welcome point. The truth is that any reductions in spending across government are a direct result of the mismanagement of the last Government and the economic mess that they bequeathed to us.

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[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Will the Secretary of State take this opportunity to praise those teachers and head teachers who are going to put their pupils first and refuse to go on strike a week on Wednesday?

[Michael Gove]

Once again, I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I stress that it is an important civil right to be able to withdraw one’s labour. I also stress that this Government understand the widespread anxiety and anguish of hard-working public sector professionals, who deserve a decent pension. However, let me also make it clear that it is wrong for teachers and head teachers to withdraw their labour, to deprive children of a day’s education and to make life more difficult for working parents—wrong, wrong, wrong.

School Funding Reform

Debate between Lord Gove and Philip Hollobone

Tuesday 19th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

Emphatically the latter.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

May I press the case for Northamptonshire, where the number of primary school places is struggling to catch up with population growth that is among the UK’s fastest?

[Michael Gove]

I am very much aware that all of Northamptonshire, east and west, is benefiting from population growth. It is critical that we meet basic need pressures wherever they are. They are most acute in London and the south-east, but there are many parts of the country where the population is growing fast.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Gove and Philip Hollobone

Monday 23rd May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

As my hon. Friends point out, a slippery slope is often something we would want in a playground. In fairness, however, as the hon. Lady pointed out, we want to ensure that children have the opportunity to play and enjoy play without fees or bureaucracy getting in the way. It is one of the responsibilities of local authorities to ensure that children have an opportunity to play freely, but it is also the responsibility of central Government to sweep away some of the ridiculous health and safety regulations that the previous Government put in place to prevent our young children from enjoying themselves properly.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

T6. Within just a few weeks of beginning their initial recruit training courses for the Army, Royal Navy or Royal Air Force, individuals joining the forces who have been let down in the areas from which they come have had their educational attainment transformed. What lessons can mainstream schools learn from Her Majesty’s armed forces?

[Michael Gove]

That is a brilliant point from my hon. Friend, who, as some may know, is a Territorial who served in the Parachute regiment. Our proposal to allow people who have been in the armed forces to enter the classroom—our Troops to Teachers programme—will ensure that precisely the sorts of virtues that he talks about become more widespread and are targeted at the most disadvantaged children.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Gove and Philip Hollobone

Monday 7th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I am very well aware of the specific challenges that North Yorkshire has in helping to ensure that children can exercise school choice and go to the most appropriate local school. I know that it is one of the most successful local authorities in terms of both value for money and school performance, so I look forward to working with my hon. Friend and the local authority to come to the right outcome.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

15. What steps he is taking to improve school discipline in (a) Kettering constituency, (b) Northamptonshire and (c) England.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Gove and Philip Hollobone

Monday 7th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. His colleague, the newly elected hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Tristram Hunt), recently said on Radio 4 that he wanted money available for school buildings to go to Stoke rather than to vanity projects for yummy mummies in west London. I defer to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central when it comes to knowledge about yummy mummies in west London; however, we have been, and are, looking very sympathetically at the case for specific additional spending in Stoke.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Will any attempt be made to revisit the proposed changes to the nursery grant provision system introduced by the previous Government and due to come in this September, which could have a very bad impact on private nursery provision?