Awarding of Qualifications: Role of Ministers

Baroness Winterton of Doncaster Excerpts

Wednesday 9th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[John Redwood]

I am delighted that the Opposition rightly wish to see children properly educated. I have never doubted that they wanted to see children properly educated—that must be a shared view that we all hold—but it would certainly be good if the Opposition carried on in the spirit of co-operation and responded to some of the consultations, for example, because very important decisions will now be taken over when the exams will take place, what the content of exams will be and how they will be marked and assessed. We need to have two things first and foremost in our minds: of course, we need to be fair to the pupils and to take into account that their education has been interrupted in recent months, but we also need to make sure that the system itself guarantees quality, so that they get a qualification that means something and is widely respected both at home and abroad. I hope that the Secretary of State will soon be able to bring forward positive proposals so that the class of 2021 can be properly looked after.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

I understand that it is important to have free-flowing debate, but I point out that we have a lot of people who are probably not going to get in on the debate, and interventions do prevent others from speaking. That is just a gentle reminder.

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[Chris Skidmore]

My hon. Friend is correct to highlight what is being done now. I raised this during questions to the Department for Education earlier in the week with regards to South Gloucestershire Council’s recovery curriculum. We must also maintain a focus on future intakes. Next year’s intake needs reassurance that they will not be penalised by any restriction in place due to deferrals that are being made this year.

Some issues have taught us valuable lessons that need to be heeded. One, I believe, is that our entire admissions system to university should now be reformed. Both main parties have already spoken of a desire to investigate what a post-qualification admissions system might look like. The Office for Students and Universities UK are doing important ongoing work, which was commissioned when I was Universities Minister, into what future measures could be considered. We know, however, that neither predicted grades nor A-level grades can solely be an accurate measure of future success at university.

Too many students, including those with health or mental health conditions, students facing the stress of a care or caregiver background, and those from homes that can never provide the learning environment needed for effective study or revision, will never achieve their actual ability while at school. They should not be written off simply because they have not achieved the grades, which after all measure performance at school, and not future potential. Of course universities are select institutions, but selection should be far more finely tuned to merit than simple grade boundaries. An admission system that uses post-qualification offers would help empower students to choose courses in the full knowledge of their results, whether based on qualifications or university assessment. That would end the process of clearing, which no matter how smooth it has become, has always struck me as no way to decide the future of—

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

Order. The right hon. Gentleman has reached the end of his time. He also took an intervention, so he has already had extra time and taken time away from others who may want to speak later.

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[Suzanne Webb]

There has been a lot of strong and emotive language used in this Chamber. My hon. Friend is absolutely correct that swift action was taken by this Government to deal with this perceived crisis: this “chaotic, terminal shambles”. Does he agree that education is so important that it should not be politicised?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. The hon. Lady has had two interventions and she is not even down to speak, so that means that somebody who is down to speak will now not be able to speak. That is the reality.

[Brendan Clarke-Smith]

I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention.

Getting back on track is the No. 1 thing, but, as I said, education is controlled by different parties across the UK. The main point, though, is that this has been an incredibly difficult process for everybody and that we must make the right decision by the students, as I think that everybody in this House would want to do. So today let us concentrate on that and on the next step, not on political point-scoring.

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[Taiwo Owatemi (Coventry North West) (Lab)]

The Sunday following A-level results day, students in my constituency should have been celebrating their achievements with their families after years of hard work. Instead, they were in Coventry city centre protesting the unjust algorithm that levelled them down, in some cases, by three to four grades, denying them their place at university.

I stood with them that Sunday, not just as their MP but as a former student at a school deemed failing by Ofsted. I suspect that if I had been a student this year, my postcode would not have passed the Government’s algorithm test, and my grades would have been downgraded significantly. I would have lost out on my place to study pharmacy, and the NHS would have had one less pharmacist to treat cancer patients in their time of need. I cannot help but fear that this Government’s failure to handle A-level, BTEC and GCSE results has cost the NHS and other sectors future key workers at a time when the country has remembered their necessity.

I also regret the disregard of teachers—a workforce of key workers who are too often forgotten about during the pandemic. This Government chose to implement an algorithm that devalued not only students but the professional expertise of teachers. At the height of the pandemic, teachers worked relentlessly to provide the requested evidence for predicted grades, while simultaneously providing increased pastoral support for their students. The Government should have listened to these key workers and valued their skills, rather than an algorithm steeped in bias. We must do everything we can to ensure that these key workers are never undervalued again. Our future generation depends on them.

For students in Coventry, the academic year ended in uncertainty because of the coronavirus, but it is because of this Government that their next academic year has needlessly begun with uncertainty too. Colleges and universities, which are already under the pressure of adapting to blended learning and ensuring a safe working and learning environment, have also been forced to pick up the pieces from the Government’s chaotic handling of results day. Even now, there are students still uncertain whether they are starting university in just a matter of weeks, still unsure about accommodation and still in the dark about their immediate future.

I wholeheartedly welcome the Government’s U-turn, which saw the abandonment of their algorithm that graded by background and not by aptitude. However, I do not welcome the lost futures, mental anguish and disruption incurred by waiting for its arrival. As an NHS worker, I knew that young people’s mental health was already in crisis. This summer’s exam results will have undoubtedly exacerbated that crisis, already strained by lockdown and restricted access to mental health crisis care. A survey by YoungMinds found that 80% of respondents agreed that the coronavirus pandemic has made their mental health worse, with 31% saying that they were no longer able to access support but still needed it. I am also deeply concerned about the further impact that this mishandling of young people’s future has had on their mental health—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. I call Sara Britcliffe.

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[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

Clearly, this was a very concerning time for many of my constituents, and I have seen many cases of young people in my constituency having been negatively impacted by this algorithm, so it could have been handled better, perhaps. It could have been handled better in Wales, perhaps; it could have been handled better in Scotland, perhaps. However, this is an unprecedented time. It is not like we can go to the shelf and ask, “How do you reopen schools in the middle of a global pandemic?” or “How do you award exam results when you have no exams?” This is completely unprecedented, and it is right that we take that on board.

It is interesting that when it came to reopening schools and getting kids back to school, or awarding exam results when we had no exams, it is not like the Labour party said, “Right, this is our plan: you should do this. Here’s a really detailed plan that you should follow.” The Labour party has never done that. In fact, as I pointed out earlier, we actually had the shadow Education Secretary in July criticising predicted grades and saying that standardisation was a way forward.

I say this passionately, as someone who became a Member of Parliament because I care about children with special educational needs and as somebody who had special educational needs myself. I think the Leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition should take some responsibility for the fact that we were not able to get more kids back to school before the summer holidays. I think he should accept that responsibility. Looking forward—[Interruption.] He made no effort. The Labour party has great influence in the National Education Union. It used none of that influence, and it continues to use none of that influence. Vulnerable children have paid the price of its leader’s inaction. [Interruption.] Okay—let’s all calm down.

Looking forward, it is absolutely critical that we provide schools and schoolteachers with certainty as quickly as possible, and that must mean exams next year. Exams are not perfect, but they have a place and they should continue to have a place. I say that as someone who was dyspraxic and an unconventional learner and pulled rabbits out of the hat at exams. Sometimes kids with SEND actually do better in exams than they do if there are no exams.

We should also look at what happened in Germany, which is probably the main example of a country that carried out socially distanced exams. With the benefit of hindsight, of course, we made the right decision at the time, but we should learn from Germany and next year give certainty to all our schools that exams will go ahead. There will be no plan B; there must be exams. I disagree with much of what Ofqual has said over the last few months, but on that I am in agreement with it. I look forward to seeing the Secretary of State next week.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

I call Apsana Begum, who has two minutes.

[Apsana Begum (Poplar and Limehouse) (Lab)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to speak in this important debate.

I want to begin by paying tribute to all the young people whose courageous and passionate protests secured major and justified U-turns from the Government. Much has already been said about the impact of the fiasco, so in my short contribution I shall focus instead on the issues that are still outstanding as a result of the decisions and U-turns—because the issue is not over or resolved. Indeed, I and countless colleagues continue to be contacted by students who have had no choice but to defer their place at university entirely because of the handling of the results.

First, some BTEC students have still not had their grades. Can the Secretary of State provide clarity and an assurance about when all BTEC students will have their results? Given the way that BTEC students are often stigmatised and treated as a class of their own in the education system, they truly deserve an apology.

Secondly, days before the fiasco unfolded, the Minister with responsibility for exams reassured MPs in a meeting that there was no evidence to suggest that the attainment gap had widened in any way during the pandemic. I remain very concerned that those from disadvantaged groups—primarily those of black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds—have been disproportionately affected as a result of the previous performance of their institutions impacting their grades. What assurances can the Secretary of State provide that every single student and institution has had the support and information to appeal and will be supported through that process?

Thirdly, the significant financial challenges across the entire education sector have been exacerbated by both coronavirus and the Government’s handling of the exams fiasco. What plans are there to ensure the stability of the sector?

The answers to those questions are crucial to ensuring transparency, and they are the key to ensuring that there are no repeats of this mishandling in any future processes. It is increasingly clear that we need a long- term review of the assessment methods used to award qualifications, including the possibility of more coursework, and systematic—

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

Order. I thank the hon. Lady, but I have to bring in the Front Benchers now.

Education Settings: Autumn Opening

Baroness Winterton of Doncaster Excerpts

Thursday 2nd July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gareth Davies (Grantham and Stamford) (Con)]

The new shadow Education Secretary used her first public statement to say that she looks forward to working with the unions. She talks about delays. Does my right hon. Friend know whether that means she agreed with the National Education Union’s orders to not engage with the Government’s plan to get children back to school?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. These are questions that should be directed to the Secretary of State. Secretary of State, I am sure you will find a way of answering that appropriately.

[Gavin Williamson]

I know that my hon. Friend shares my passion to see every child back in school and every school right across the country getting their full curriculum in every class. I hope that those people who have occasionally been tempted to try to block the full return of schools and those who have tried to frustrate the best efforts of headteachers and so many other teachers in their desire to see every child back will recognise that it is important and absolutely vital that we do everything to see all children enjoying that first-class education that we all want them to have.

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[Tom Hunt (Ipswich) (Con)]

As the Member of Parliament for Ipswich and an avid Newcastle United fan, I cannot think of a better name for a school than the Sir Bobby Robson School, which will open its doors in September. I have become an associate governor. It will specifically support children with complex emotional and mental needs. Its approach will be to have a transition period, almost a therapeutic approach, where it will try to re-socialise vulnerable young adults so that they can reintegrate and catch up. Will my right hon. Friend join me in wishing the Sir Bobby Robson School all the best for the future and provide it and other special schools with the support and external expertise they need to make sure that vulnerable young adults have the best chance to crack on and have a bright future?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. If we are going to get everybody in, it is important that we have short punchy questions to the Secretary of State, and short answers too.

[Gavin Williamson]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his work with the Sir Bobby Robson School although, as a Wolves fan, I am not sure if he was quite the right person to name it after. I look forward to working with him and the school to make sure that, as it brings children back, they have the best education, and assisting it and him in terms of delivering that for those children.

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[Gavin Williamson]

The guidance that we have issued includes a heavy emphasis on continuity of education so that children would not suffer any form of disruption to learning patterns if we were in a position of having to put in place local lockdowns in different communities or areas that would mean schools were not able to remain open.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

I have to announce a correction to the Division result. I have received a report from the Tellers in the Aye Lobby informing me that there was an error in the result announced to the House of the Division held yesterday on new clause 1 to the Finance Bill. The number of Members who voted Aye was 252, not 232 as reported. The discrepancy was a result of human error by the Tellers. It was not related to the pass reader recording system. There is no change to the outcome of the Division. I will direct the Clerk of the House to ensure that the Journal is corrected accordingly.

I shall now suspend the House for three minutes to allow the safe exit of Members in this piece of business and the safety entry of those in the next.

Free School Meals: Summer Holidays

Baroness Winterton of Doncaster Excerpts

Tuesday 16th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Sally-Ann Hart (Hastings and Rye) (Con)]

First, may I join colleagues across the House in paying my respects to Jo Cox? I was not fortunate enough to serve in the House while she was a Member, but her reputation and causes live on in this place and she is hugely missed by Members on both sides of the House.

I am extremely fortunate to be a Member representing the beautiful constituency of Hastings and Rye. From our stunning coastline to our historic castle, world-class engineering companies to renowned pubs and restaurants, we have so much to be proud of, but we are also a constituency blighted by poverty and deprivation—ills in our communities that have plagued families for generations. I was elected on a promise to support the most vulnerable in our communities and ensure, as the Prime Minister has said many times, that we level up the area, so that all can benefit from the opportunities of the future. It is because I am acutely aware of these levels of deprivation, which I see every week in Hastings and Rye, that this debate is so important to me.

I am unashamedly committed to the Conservative ideas of a small state, individual responsibility and upholding the value in the institution of family. Yet, at a time of economic and health crises, I see that the most deprived are being punished disproportionately with worse health outcomes, suffering more from the closure of schools and being dependent on institutions like our food banks and charities. So there is clearly a role in these unprecedented times for the state to intervene.

We must recognise that the argument for free school meals to be available during school holidays is not new. A 2016 survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers found that children from disadvantaged backgrounds were returning to school after the summer holidays less than healthy because they had gone without food. To assume, though, that people who are less well off will not or cannot feed their children is, I am sure, somewhat insulting to disadvantaged families. In fact, during the coronavirus, many families have not accessed free school meals or the voucher scheme, but, as my hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield (Ben Bradley), who has left the Chamber, highlighted, we must not shy away from the fact that, unfortunately, some parents just do not or cannot prioritise their children’s needs over their own. We must turbo-charge our efforts to look at the underlying causes of the neglect of some children by their parents, tackling the root cause rather than just allowing the Government to step in and do the easiest thing—throw money at the problem.

This Conservative Government, under our Prime Minister, have committed to combat poverty by improving education, jobs and our economy by levelling up. As I said, as a Conservative I believe in a small state, which protects individual freedoms and allows people to take responsibility for themselves and their families. Small government may sound uncaring, but it is not. A big state is much more callous, as it engenders dependency and therefore ultimately lacks accountability to the electorate. We cannot let the state take over a parent’s job—a parent’s most basic responsibility to feed and keep their children safe. It cannot be right that Government usurp the domain of the family and the most basic role of parenting. We cannot excuse people from the basic responsibility to their children; it is fundamental to being a good parent. We cannot have a culture that encourages the Government to take over the most basic roles of parenting, and we cannot have a culture where parents expect the Government to feed their children so that they can have money for other things. We cannot take away a parent’s opportunity to take responsibility for themselves and their family.

As Conservatives, we have a good track record in government of supporting the most vulnerable through access to work, increasing the tax threshold, free school meals, the living wage and providing more free childcare. We have shown through other policies that we are committed to helping the most vulnerable. We will get our economy back on track following coronavirus and make it strong again, creating more, higher-paid jobs. The values that I spoke of earlier—individual responsibility, a small state—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. I am afraid the hon. Lady has come to the end of her time.

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[Mike Amesbury]

No.

Before the Prime Minister’s U-turn, Minister after Minister told us, “We don’t normally fund free school meals outside term time.” Well, we do not normally furlough 9 million workers. We do not normally ask people to isolate, distance and bubble. We do not normally close down schools in the middle of the school year. Nothing has been normal since March. This pandemic has required an extraordinary response from the party of small government and an extraordinary response from society.

This enforced U-turn—we remember the Order Paper, just hours ago—is a victory for children and a victory for common sense. But we cannot be in denial about the economic fallout from covid-19. This is only just the beginning, and it comes on top of 10 years of austerity. We cannot be in denial about the impact that this will have on the poorest in our society: the economic effect of the virus is pushing more families into poverty, and more children will go hungry, from Palacefields to Leftwich in my constituency.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Salford and Eccles (Rebecca Long Bailey) pointed out, the IPPR estimates that 200,000 more children will now fall below the poverty line and are at risk of hunger. This is not the time for a small state—it is the time for Government to get on their side, surely. In the long term, we need to look at the extraordinary number of children who are living in poverty in this country. We need to work hard to stop child poverty at its roots, rather than treating its worst symptoms or coming out with ideological claptrap and stereotypes. Hunger does not understand term dates. It does not understand ideological nonsense. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all worked together, grew up a little and ended child and food poverty once and for all?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

To try to have any chance of getting everybody in who wishes to speak, I am going to reduce the time limit to three minutes. I have given the hon. Member for Watford (Dean Russell) notice of that.

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[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. The point I am trying to make is that if people take interventions, it gives them extra time, but it prevents others from speaking, because we will not be able to get everybody in. That is why people need to think carefully before they take interventions, because it honestly does stop others speaking.

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[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

If hon. Members can speak for slightly less than three minutes, we might be able to get everybody in. If we are thinking of each other, that is the way to do it. As I have said before, having interventions is not a good idea because it will take away the opportunity from others.

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[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

I am going to have to reduce the limit to two minutes in order to get everybody in.

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[Olivia Blake (Sheffield, Hallam) (Lab)]

I would like to take a moment to remember Jo Cox, a fellow Yorkshirewoman. She was such an inspiration and stood up against inequality and the loneliness that often accompanies it.

I welcome the Government U-turn on free school meals over the summer. I pay tribute to Marcus Rashford for his leadership over the past few days. Perhaps Government Members could take some lessons from that.

Since the onset of the covid-19 crisis, 1.5 million people have reported going a whole day without food. The use of food banks has soared. Mutual aid groups, food banks and campaigners in my constituency have struggled to provide the food that the people of Sheffield need. Their work and the work of others is heartening, but it is also a travesty that in the sixth richest country in the world it falls to volunteers and the charity sector to ensure that no one is going hungry.

Over the past few years in Sheffield, we have seen a growth in activities for young people that now must involve the provision of food, whether they are holiday hunger projects or term-time clubs. Children are struggling to get the nutrition they need and rely on such projects, as well as free school meals. The demand is high and it is growing. Communities have identified the need, but it is clear that they do not have the resources to prevent hunger in their neighbourhoods. They cannot solve the structural issues of inequality, low pay, insufficient social security, and rising costs in housing, energy and the basics. Solving that requires action and intervention from this place.

The pandemic has not created this crisis, but it has shone a light on the weaknesses that already exist. According the Trussell Trust’s “State of Hunger” report, 8% to 10% of households in recent years have experienced food insecurity, leading to 1.5 million units of emergency food parcels—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order.

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[Sam Tarry (Ilford South) (Lab)]

I welcome the Government’s U-turn on this important issue, and it is incredibly disappointing that it has taken a high-profile intervention—a “Match of the Day”-worthy goal—from Marcus Rashford to get us to this point. I think of my constituents in Ilford South, where we have over 4,000 children who claim free school meal vouchers, and, potentially, with 17,500 people on furlough, that figure could rise to a far worse and frightening level.

Unsurprisingly, I have been inundated with emails from concerned constituents in precarious positions. Andrea, with three children, currently has no income whatever due to the covid crisis, her mental health damaged. I will quickly mention one young man—a 10-year-old, Muhammad Ameen, who took the time to write to me from my old primary school, Highlands, in Ilford South. He said that some children whose

“parents are poor, have to suffer hunger in this crisis and are not getting the free school meals they need. I must stress this is for the families who desperately need it.”

I know that we are short on time, so I will finish by saying that it does not often happen that someone who is a West Ham supporter will congratulate and thank Marcus Rashford, a Manchester United player, but by highlighting this, he has held a mirror up to the Government. Thankfully, they have responded and are going to help all those people in my constituency to get through this summer—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order.

Children and Young Persons

Baroness Winterton of Doncaster Excerpts

Wednesday 10th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. This is a 90-minute debate. We have a fair number of speakers, so I urge colleagues to speak for no longer than 10 minutes.

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[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. In order to get everyone in and give the Minister a good opportunity to reply, speeches should be a maximum of eight minutes.

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[Vicky Ford]

I am going to make some progress and come to the specific questions raised. We did need to prepare for the risk that local services may be unable to fully respond to significant pressures caused by covid-19. Serious staff absences, coupled with an increase in demand for services, could lead to the most vulnerable children being put at risk if services struggle to cope with the requirements of legislation. Some of the changes provide for the ability to diverge from established timescales for a limited number of activities or to cater for situations where there may be staff absences or a need to reduce personal contact. For example, it may not be appropriate for a social worker to physically visit a looked-after child if covid is present or if the household is self-isolating.

Some changes are designed to help ensure that there are minimal delays in the adoption or fostering process. For example, in order to make sure that we have enough foster carers available at a time when potential need has increased, we have given flexibility on who could be a temporary foster carer, while still requiring that carers must be properly assessed for this vital role. Other changes allow local authorities more time to respond to formal reports, such as those from Ofsted inspections.

The flexibilities were developed rapidly and they needed to be, so the scope for formal consultation was more limited than normal and it was necessary to forgo the standard 21-day rule for their coming into force, but the views of a wide range of organisations did influence the regulations that were laid before the House, and I do welcome the opportunity to discuss them tonight. It is important to be clear exactly what those flexibilities are; otherwise young people will be unduly concerned. The hon. Member for Salford and Eccles (Rebecca Long Bailey) has suggested that short-break placements for children are now too long and there will not be any requirements on visits and care plans, but the annual limit of 75 days in any one year remains. We have removed the restriction on no single placement being longer than 17 days, simply so that children do not have to move between homes as frequently, and I am sure she will understand that.

Opposition Members have also suggested that social workers will no longer need to visit children living in care, but that is simply not the case. Statutory timescales remain in place. Social workers always must endeavour to meet those timetables, and in the small number of cases where they cannot meet them, for reasons such as sickness or self-isolation, they must be able to demonstrate that they can meet them and why the temporary amendment can be used. It is not the case that children’s homes can deprive a child of his or her liberty. That decision can be made only by a public health officer, who has the power to impose proportionate requirements, including screening and isolation, if any individual has a suspected or confirmed case of coronavirus. That decision must always be kept under review and must take account of the child’s wellbeing.

It has also been suggested that children could be placed with emergency foster carers for too long and without scrutiny, but in fact there will continue to be the same scrutiny of emergency foster carers. My hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) asked about decisions on placing a child in care outside his local area. I thank him for his invitation to meet his all-party group on children, as I would be delighted to do that. In fact, any decision to place a child with a non-connected person would still be subject to strict and intensive assessment by the local authority of their suitability, background and circumstances. This flexibility is available only in cases where additional scrutiny by a nominated officer will delay a child being placed with an appropriate and approved carer. He also raised the important issue of serious safeguarding cases. No changes have been made to primary legislation that require local authorities to investigate suspected cases of the risk of significant harm, or local authorities’ powers to make applications for emergency protection orders or applications for care protection orders.

My hon. Friend and the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Steve McCabe) asked why there were differences in other parts of the UK. Structures and approaches differ across each part of the UK and so will the pressures that are felt. We in the Department for Education speak to providers and local authorities in England. These changes are a response to what we have been told. Other countries will have spoken to their own local areas and will take actions accordingly.

The Children’s Commissioner has a very important job to speak for children and it is right that she does so. We agree on the importance of protecting vulnerable children—indeed, I speak to her regularly—but on this matter we disagree. I set out clear responses to the points she made in an article in The Guardian in a point-by-point statement published on the Department’s website. I suggest that Members who quoted her look at the detailed responses I have made, because we have worked to address many of her concerns on the guidance that we have published for local authorities. We are continuing to engage with her about how we can ensure our guidance is clear.

This is a really important point: these flexibilities should be used only when absolutely necessary and in the interests of the child, because the child’s interests must come first. If there is no pressing need to use them, they should not be used. The flexibilities must be approved at chief officer level in local authorities or by top-tier management in other organisations. The decisions for their being used must be recorded. Ofsted will take note of any usage and stands ready to take action. Indeed, Ofsted is taking action, even at this time, to suspend 17 children’s homes or stop them taking children.

Monitoring is important. We have been gathering information regularly on which of the regulations are being used and why we are holding a monthly survey of local authorities. We are working with key organisations, including children’s charities and provider representatives, to seek feedback on how the regulations are being used and the effect on children. I am glad to report that they are being used infrequently. The flexibility most likely to be used is one that allows medical reports to be considered at a later date of an adoption process, thus minimising delays in approving adopters and allowing for those children to move on into that new forever family.

The changes will expire on 25 September. There is no plan to extend them. If there is a need for further flexibility, it will be on a case-by-case basis after discussion with stakeholders and subject to full parliamentary process. The regulation changes are temporary. They are not permanent. I am committed to keeping a close eye on the situation and will report back to Parliament before the summer recess.

The Government are absolutely committed to supporting vulnerable children and ensuring that they are properly safeguarded. We have demonstrated that through the initiatives I have outlined today. Supporting vulnerable children will continue to be my No. 1 priority, the No. 1 priority of the Department for Education, and the No. 1 priority of the Government during this time.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

I am expecting a Division on this Question, and hon. and right hon. Members should be familiar with the Division process. But could I please urge all hon. Members to pause at the relevant Dispatch Box and give their names and vote clearly? The Question is on Motion 5 on the Order Paper.

Question put.

Education Settings: Wider Opening

Baroness Winterton of Doncaster Excerpts

Tuesday 9th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

I would hope that the hon. Lady and I are completely united in our concern to make sure that a generation of children do not miss out. We recognise and understand the truly extraordinary times in which we are living, and in which we are asking children to learn, teachers to teach and all those who support them to work. We also recognise that we need to be bringing schools back and pupils back into the classroom. Had it been left to the hon. Lady, she would not have been bringing children back into the classroom until the National Education Union said that she was allowed to do so. We will continue to work with all. We recognise how incredibly important it is to do the best for every single child. That is why it is so welcome to see so many schools opening their doors, welcoming children in and giving them the very best of what they can offer.

The hon. Lady raises an important point about summer schemes, but we need to lift our eyes higher and to be more ambitious. She is right to highlight the fact that there are real challenges that children have suffered as a consequence of this lockdown. But to put that right, we need to take a longer-term approach on how we can support children over a longer period of time. That is what we will be working towards and what we will be delivering. And, yes, we will continue to work with groups and organisations right across the spectrum to ensure that the policies are evidence-based and that they will deliver for children. We will not be doing virtue signalling; we will be taking the actions that will make a real improvement and a real difference to children’s lives.

The hon. Lady is right to highlight the importance of working with Ofqual. That is what we are doing, including with representative organisations of schools and teachers, to make sure that next year’s exams—whether they be GCSEs, A-levels, T-levels or BTECs and other qualifications—are fair and reflect the hard work of the children.

The hon. Lady mentioned the issue of SAGE and its data and Public Health England. That is not within my control, as it is an independent body. SAGE regularly publishes all its data and will be doing so with reference to this. When it comes to local authorities across the country, whether they are in the north-west, the north-east, the south-east, or the south-west, we will work with all of them where they have concerns, and with Public Health England, so that they get the best advice, because the interests of children and of those who work in schools are my primary interest and my focus in making sure that we can bring schools back. We will work with those local authorities’ We need to bring all schools back in every part of this country. If the evidence starts to point to the fact that we need to close down schools in small clusters as a result of this, obviously that is the action that we will take, but only on the best advice from PHE. At the moment, the advice from PHE and SAGE is that all schools can open and that they should open.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

We now go to the Chair of the Education Committee.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con) [V]]

Why can we turn a blind eye to thousands of demonstrators  and campaign for pubs and garden centres to open, yet it is so hard to reopen our schools? We know that about 700,000 disadvantaged children are not doing school homework and 700,000 do not have proper access to computers for the internet, so what are the Government doing to help those disadvantaged children to learn again and avoid an epidemic of educational poverty? Can we have a long-term plan for a catch-up premium for education to look after those left-behind children? Will the Secretary of State reconsider ensuring that those children get free school meals over the summer, given the financial anxieties their families are facing during the pandemic?

--- Later in debate ---

[Duncan Baker (North Norfolk) (Con)]

I thank the Secretary of State for enabling some primary school children to go back to school last week, not least because I am the father of a four-year-old who was desperate to get back to school and has enjoyed the education and the wellbeing that she needed; I am sure I speak for many parents across the country when I say that. Teachers in North Norfolk have been phenomenal in their efforts to get students and little children back to school. What reassurances can he give to vulnerable children who cannot go back at the moment and are remote learning that they are getting an equitable education, so that they do not fall further behind?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. I want to try to get everybody in, so we need quite short questions and answers.

[Gavin Williamson]

I share my hon. Friend’s desire to see all children return to school in a phased way as swiftly as possible. He highlights some really important challenges, especially for vulnerable children who are not necessarily able to access education by going into school. I was particularly delighted to see the progress we have made with the Oak National Academy. By just a few days ago, it had delivered over 10 million lessons to children, and part of that package is lessons and support for children with special educational needs.

--- Later in debate ---

[Gavin Williamson]

That is why, as I stated earlier, we want to work with local authorities that have concerns to make sure they are in a position to open all their schools and, where they face practical problems or issues, to discuss that with them to ensure that all their schools are open. If we have to close schools, we will do that in conjunction with Public Health England, but it is vital that we get all schools open for these year groups, while always recognising that there might be clusters of schools that have to close for short periods.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

I remind colleagues that I would like to get everybody in, but that means short questions and short answers.

[David Johnston (Wantage) (Con)]

When the Children’s Commissioner appeared before the Education Committee last week, she said that if no further children went back to school before September, 8 million children will have missed six months of learning. Given what we know already happens over the summer holidays, does my right hon. Friend agree that that is too long and that any school that conceivably can open should do so?

Education and Local Government

Baroness Winterton of Doncaster Excerpts

Tuesday 14th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. As colleagues will be aware, there is pressure on time, so after the next speaker, I will put a five-minute time limit on speeches. In the meantime, it is with great pleasure that I call Tom Randall to make his maiden speech.

--- Later in debate ---

[Layla Moran]

I could not agree more. Our teachers are heroes. Day in, day out, teachers in secondary and primary schools, especially primaries—I still do not understand how they do it; those people have the patience of angels—are doing an incredible job, and I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving me the chance to say so. That said, however, they are doing it under enormous strain.

The thin end of the wedge is exclusions, which currently represent a huge crisis in our education system. Vulnerable children are falling through the cracks of a system that is under extraordinary strain. As I said earlier, I went into politics because I was appalled that there was such a strong link in this country between where people go and where they come from. This House is becoming more representative when it comes to women and a bit more representative when it comes to black and minority ethnic people, but how representative is it when it comes to socioeconomic backgrounds? That, I think, is the one thing that we do not talk enough about in this place.

In our schools, it is the kids who come from poorer backgrounds who are consistently falling through the cracks. The rate of permanent exclusions increased by 52% between 2013-14 and 2017-18, returning to levels not seen since the end of the last Labour Government. In secondary schools, for every 10 pupils on the school roll, one temporary exclusion is issued. Pupils with moderate special educational needs are five times more likely to be excluded than those without them, and more than 50% of children with SEND who are excluded have social, emotional or mental health difficulties. Black Caribbean and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities are the most likely to be excluded, and pupils on free school meals are four times as likely to be excluded as their classmates from more affluent backgrounds.

I do not believe for one second that those children are in any way less able than anyone else. There is something wider going on here. I think that we need to look at our own system. There are perverse incentives in it, to do with accountability and the inspection regime, that encourage teachers to “off-roll” difficult students before GCSEs. Headteachers are desperate, because of the punitive way in which Ofsted uses results, to take some of them out of the system so that their ratings do not fall. We know that that is happening: Ofsted itself has alerted us to it.

Ultimately, who sets the regime under which Ofsted inspects? Who gives Ofsted its money? It is the Department for Education, and the direction for that is driven by this place. Schools are judged on academic progress. Incidentally, it is the support staff who are the first to go in these leaner financial times. People talk about behaviour, and we heard the Minister talk earlier about the fact that the Government were putting some more money into local government support—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. Before I call the next speaker, I should just say that I should have said the limit was six minutes. The hon. Lady has just had seven; it was adjusted in the end.

School Funding

Baroness Winterton of Doncaster Excerpts

Thursday 25th April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

We now come to the Back-Bench motion on school funding. Before we start, I need to tell the House that we have, in theory, 28 speakers for the two debates this afternoon. I also have to take into account the opening speeches, the Front-Bench speeches and the wind-ups, so I ask the movers of the motions to stick to the limit of between 10 and 15 minutes, and I am sure colleagues would appreciate it if it were nearer to 10. I will also have to impose an immediate five-minute time limit on Back-Bench speeches.

Education

Baroness Winterton of Doncaster Excerpts

Wednesday 20th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Minister, like others in this Chamber I have a real concern over the rights of parents. I hope the right hon. Gentleman will be able to help me on a specific point relating to the regulations that I know many others cannot understand. Given that RSE is to be taught in secondary school, how will it be possible to withdraw a child from sex education but not relationships education? Logically, a withdrawal from sex education must surely also be a withdrawal from relationship education unless the two subjects are taught separately. What is it to be: teaching RSE as an integrated subject with the right of withdrawal from RSE as a whole; or splitting the subjects in two, so that one can apply the right of withdrawal to just sex education? It is either one or the other.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. Before the Minister replies, I remind the Chamber that a lot of hon. Members wish to speak, so interventions need to be brief.

[Nick Gibb]

The right is for parents to withdraw their child from the sex education element of relationships and sex education. When it passed the Children and Social Work Act 2017, the House made it very clear that there would be no right for parents to seek their children’s withdrawal from the relationships element of this new compulsory part of the curriculum, either at primary or secondary level.

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[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. Before I call the shadow Secretary of State, colleagues will I hope be aware that this debate finishes at seven minutes past 8, so after the shadow Secretary of State has spoken, I will impose an immediate five-minute time limit, and it will come down after that. If any colleagues feel that their interventions mean they do not need to make further contributions, I am sure other colleagues would appreciate that, and they can let me know and withdraw their names if they wish to.

--- Later in debate ---

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. I will now impose a four-minute time limit, and I have informed the right hon. Member for Basingstoke (Mrs Miller) of that.

--- Later in debate ---

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. I am afraid that I am going to reduce the time limit to three minutes.

Maintained Nursery Schools

Baroness Winterton of Doncaster Excerpts

Thursday 31st January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. Just before I call the next speaker, I am anxious to ensure that everybody has a good time slot and so I urge hon. Members to take 10 minutes and no more. In that way, we will be able to get everybody in and they will be able to have an equal amount of time.

Education Funding

Baroness Winterton of Doncaster Excerpts

Tuesday 13th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. Both Front Benchers have been very generous in taking interventions, but inevitably that has put some pressure on time. I will impose an immediate time limit of six minutes, but I warn colleagues that that may fall.

--- Later in debate ---

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

I am delighted that my hon. Friend is talking about public finance, because we also have to talk about education and look at the record of the previous Labour Administration. In the course of effectively destroying the public finances and leaving us with the biggest deficit in our peacetime history, Labour presided over an absolute fall in standards in our schools. This has been well documented by the programme for international student assessment tables and other international records. It was the case—[Interruption.]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. Not too much shouting from a sedentary position, please.

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

Labour Members are shouting because they do not like to hear the truth—it is embarrassing to them.

We looked at reading statistics and we looked at mathematics. The coalition Government that came in in 2010 not only managed to begin to reduce the deficit but drove up standards through the admirable work of my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove). When he was Secretary of State for four years, he managed to begin to drive up standards in schools. He reorganised a lot of the qualifications. On that note, I am delighted about the introduction of the new T-levels, showing innovation and a new approach. We introduced free schools, which have been very successful.

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

There have been more than 400, and each of them has been—[Interruption.] The hon. Gentleman scoffs, but each of them has been extremely successful and is driving up standards in its locality.

I was particularly surprised to hear that the shadow Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell), is actually campaigning to try to preserve the free school in his borough because it is a beacon of excellence. This is the kind of hypocrisy—“Do as I say, not as I do”—that we have learned to expect from Labour. It is an absolute scandal that someone like the right hon. Gentleman should be against free schools but actually support one in his own constituency. That school is an excellent initiative. He is being a very good constituency MP, and I am delighted to see that he is supporting a free school in his constituency.

The facts of the matter are very clear. What the coalition Government and the current Conservative Government have managed to do is to bring some degree of order to the public finances while driving standards higher in education. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has suggested that we have 1.9 million more pupils in outstanding schools. [Interruption.] These are facts. I know that Labour Members do not want to hear those facts. We have also heard—[Interruption.] I am surprised that I am eliciting a running commentary from the shadow Secretary of State. It is absolutely extraordinary. She does not like hearing the truth, does she? [Interruption.] She really does not like it, so she will not let me continue my speech.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. Really, can we just take the temperature down a little bit here?

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I have never, in my eight years in Parliament, actually had a running commentary on any speech, so clearly I must have hit a nerve. It is absolutely extraordinary, this constant chuntering.

The facts are very clear. We have had higher standards in the past eight years—[Interruption.] I do not think that is particularly funny, if we look at the wreckage of the last Labour Government. We have a comprehensive spending review next year when we will be allocating even more resources to education and to schools than ever before. We have more teachers. We have higher attainment. We have higher standards than ever before. In the context of the disaster that Labour presided over in respect of the public finances, what this Government have done over the past eight years is to be commended.

In my constituency there are six schools in the maintained sector—very good secondary schools. Every single one of them has seen standards improve and has seen additional amounts of money. We have seen, with one exception, additional amounts of money put to pupils’ use for books, attainment and driving up standards. I would just say that we in Spelthorne would like to see some degree of equalisation between the London allowances that London teachers have and the amount that teachers in our borough receive. We are just outside London. Many of our teachers feel that because they do not have London weighting, even though the costs in the borough are level with those in London, we would like some sort of adjustment, if that were possible. Overall, though, while the picture is not perfect—very little is perfect—we are on a much, much better footing than was ever the case, certainly when I started in my role in 2010.