Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data his Department holds on the estimated number of children who will potentially be without a free breakfast once the National School Breakfast Programme ends in March 2021.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The department is investing up to £35 million into the National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP), using funds from Soft Drinks Industry Levy revenues. Overall, this money will kick-start or improve breakfast clubs in up to 2,450 schools in disadvantaged areas, making them sustainable in the long run. The programme has been extended by a further year until March 2021 and will support up to an additional 650 schools with up to £11.8 million being invested. We monitor management information from the programme on an ongoing basis and will review the number of children attending once the programme concludes. Future departmental spending decisions about the programme are subject to the spending review. Further details of this are yet to be determined.
More than 1,800 schools have benefitted from the programme from March 2018 - March 2020. Family Action have estimated 280,000 pupils have had access to a healthy nutritious breakfast in their report Food for Thought, published in July 2019, which can be found here: https://www.family-action.org.uk/content/uploads/2019/07/NSBP-Impact-report-v11-LOWRES.pdf.
A list of schools in London, Erith and Thamesmead taking part in the NSBP from March 2018 – March 2020 can be found in the attached table. More schools will have joined the programme since March 2020 as part of the extension to the contract.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on setting and monitoring objectives to reduce the rate of 18 to 24 year olds not in education, employment or training; and whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the Youth Employment Group report entitled Securing a place for young people in the nation’s economic recovery.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We want to give young people the best chance to succeed, despite these challenging and unsettling times. We know that young people are likely to be disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
We welcome the work of the Youth Employment Group (YEG) and the contribution the report makes to helping our understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and what the government might do to mitigate these risks. I was pleased to meet YEG chairs in September 2020 and appreciated hearing from them how we can better support young people not in education, employment or training (NEET). We continue to work closely with the YEG as part of our stakeholder work.
The department is working with a range of partners including local authorities and key stakeholders to monitor the situation and, across government, to review the impact on young people NEET as the situation emerges.
As part of my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Plan for Jobs, we made a number of skills commitments such as a significant expansion of the traineeships programme, the introduction of high value courses for year 13 leavers to continue in learning, and payments for employers to hire new apprentices. Kickstart will also create high quality work placements for young people claiming Universal Credit who are deemed at risk of long-term unemployment. It will create more sector-based work academy programmes that will provide vocational training and guaranteed interviews for more people, helping them gain the skills needed for jobs in their local area. We will be monitoring progress and take up of these offers alongside NEET numbers.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to Public Health England's report entitled Covid-19: review of disparities in risks and outcomes, what additional support he is providing to teachers who are more vulnerable to covid-19 during the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Nick Gibb
We have worked closely with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Public Health England (PHE) to develop specific guidance for school settings, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools#school-workforce. DHSC and PHE endorsed system of controls outlined in our guidance sets out the measures that school leaders and all school staff should follow.
Where schools implement the system of controls outlined in our guidance, in line with their own workplace risk assessment, DHSC and PHE confirm that these measures create an inherently safer environment for children and staff where the risk of transmission of infection is substantially reduced. As a result, on current evidence, DHSC and PHE advise that schools are not currently considered high risk settings when compared to other workplace environments.
Some people with particular characteristics may be at comparatively increased risk from COVID-19, as set out in the ‘COVID-19: review of disparities in risks and outcomes’ report. These staff can attend school as long as the system of controls set out in the published guidance are in place, as set out above.
While the national restrictions introduced from 5 November are in force, those individuals who are clinically extremely vulnerable are advised to work from home where possible and not to go into work. Individuals in this group will have been identified through a letter from the NHS or from their GP, and may have been advised to shield in the past. Staff should talk to their employers about how they will be supported, including to work from home where possible, during the period of national restrictions. All other staff can continue to attend work, including those living in a household with someone who is clinically extremely vulnerable.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to close the educational attainment gap in the last five years.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We understand that pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds may face greater challenges to realise their potential at school. This is why, since 2011, we have given more than £18 billion in extra grant funding to schools through the pupil premium, so that they can provide their disadvantaged pupils with additional support. £12 billion of this has been invested in schools since 2015.
In 2011, we established the Education Endowment Fund (EEF) to research and share the most effective approaches to improving academic outcomes. Since 2011, the EEF has run and reported on hundreds of trials in thousands of English schools. It maintains a range of internationally recognised effective practice resources and, in 2019, published its Pupil Premium Guide to help school leaders make the most impact with their pupil premium. All EEF’s website resources are free to English schools. The EEF’s Pupil Premium Guide is available here: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/evidence-summaries/pupil-premium-guide/.
Between 2011 and 2019, the disadvantage attainment gap narrowed by 13% at age 11 and by 9% at age 16 against a background of rising standards. By early 2020, 86% of schools were judged to be good or outstanding, compared with 68% in 2010. Our reforms, and the focus provided by the pupil premium, supported this improvement.
Recognising the impact of school closures on all pupils, particularly the disadvantaged, on 19 June, we announced a £1 billion COVID-19 catch-up package. Alongside our £650 million universal catch-up premium that enables schools to prioritise support for specific groups of pupils according to their needs, we launched the National Tutoring Programme to provide targeted support worth up to £350 million for disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils who are most at risk of falling further behind. Schools in the most deprived areas will be supported to provide intensive catch-up support to their pupils in small groups using academic mentors. This is in addition to our 2019 core funding commitment that will see an extra £14.4 billion provided to schools over the next 3 years.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to tackle the educational attainment gap following the closure of schools as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We know that school closures have had an adverse impact on all pupils, and we believe those from disadvantaged backgrounds will have been particularly affected. To ensure we properly understand all the impacts, we have commissioned independent research, which is currently in its early stages. Meanwhile, we have put in place a number of significant policy measures to help schools address the barriers to success that these pupils face, particularly as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Our £1 billion COVID-19 catch-up package is providing additional funding to support children and young people whose education has been disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak. The package includes the National Tutoring Programme, which will provide up to £350 million of targeted support for disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils who are most at risk of falling further behind. From November, this investment will provide schools in all regions access to subsidised, high-quality tuition supplied by approved tuition partners. Schools in the most deprived areas will be supported to use in-house academic mentors to provide intensive catch-up support to their pupils in small groups.
The National Tutoring Programme sits alongside our £650 million universal catch-up premium funding for the current academic year, that will enable schools to prioritise support for specific groups of pupils according to their needs. We have also provided funding to support small group tuition for 16-19 year olds and the improvement of early language skills in reception classes. This £1 billion package is additional to the £14.4 billion 3 year investment in schools that we announced last year. Schools continue to receive the £2.4 billion pupil premium that allows school leaders to tailor the support they provide, based on the needs of their disadvantaged pupils, to accelerate their progress and improve their attainment.
This significant cash injection helps schools to take immediate action to address the learning lost due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We will continue to monitor the attainment gap closely, both at primary and secondary levels, as the nation recovers from the COVID-19 outbreak.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the effect of the plans he has implemented on the time it will take to close the current educational attainment gap of one month.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We know that school closures have had an adverse impact on all pupils, and we believe those from disadvantaged backgrounds will have been particularly affected. To ensure we properly understand all the impacts, we have commissioned independent research, which is currently in its early stages. Meanwhile, we have put in place a number of significant policy measures to help schools address the barriers to success that these pupils face, particularly as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Our £1 billion COVID-19 catch-up package is providing additional funding to support children and young people whose education has been disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak. The package includes the National Tutoring Programme, which will provide up to £350 million of targeted support for disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils who are most at risk of falling further behind. From November, this investment will provide schools in all regions access to subsidised, high-quality tuition supplied by approved tuition partners. Schools in the most deprived areas will be supported to use in-house academic mentors to provide intensive catch-up support to their pupils in small groups.
The National Tutoring Programme sits alongside our £650 million universal catch-up premium funding for the current academic year, that will enable schools to prioritise support for specific groups of pupils according to their needs. We have also provided funding to support small group tuition for 16-19 year olds and the improvement of early language skills in reception classes. This £1 billion package is additional to the £14.4 billion 3 year investment in schools that we announced last year. Schools continue to receive the £2.4 billion pupil premium that allows school leaders to tailor the support they provide, based on the needs of their disadvantaged pupils, to accelerate their progress and improve their attainment.
This significant cash injection helps schools to take immediate action to address the learning lost due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We will continue to monitor the attainment gap closely, both at primary and secondary levels, as the nation recovers from the COVID-19 outbreak.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 1 October 2020 to Question 96213 on Children: Coronavirus, what contact the London regional team has had with the London borough of Bexley on the impact of covid-19 on children's services.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Departmental officials are routinely in touch with local authorities to discuss the progress of their children’s services. We have been in contact with all local authorities in recent months, including the London Borough of Bexley, to understand how they are dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak, the impact on children’s services, and how the department can support them during this difficult period.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on the educational attainment gap of school closures in response to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We know that school closures have had an adverse impact on all pupils, and we believe those from disadvantaged backgrounds will have been particularly affected. To ensure we properly understand all the impacts, we have commissioned independent research, which is currently in its early stages. Meanwhile, we have put in place a number of significant policy measures to help schools address the barriers to success that these pupils face, particularly as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Our £1 billion COVID-19 catch-up package is providing additional funding to support children and young people whose education has been disrupted by the outbreak. The package includes the National Tutoring Programme, which will provide up to £350 million of targeted support for disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils who are most at risk of falling further behind. From November, this investment will provide schools in all regions access to subsidised, high-quality tuition supplied by approved tuition partners. Schools in the most deprived areas will be supported to use in-house academic mentors to provide intensive catch-up support to their pupils in small groups.
The National Tutoring Programme sits alongside our £650 million universal catch-up premium funding for the current academic year, that will enable schools to prioritise support for specific groups of pupils according to their needs. We have also provided funding to support small group tuition for 16-19-year olds and the improvement of early language skills in reception classes. This £1 billion package is additional to the £14.4 billion 3-year investment in schools that we announced last year. Schools continue to receive the £2.4 billion pupil premium that allows school leaders to tailor the support they provide, based on the needs of their disadvantaged pupils, to accelerate their progress and improve their attainment.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to ensure that no children’s centres are closed as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The decision on whether to keep Sure Start children’s centres open in response to the COVID-19 outbreak is a decision for local authorities to take.
Local authorities have a duty under the Childcare Act (2006) to ensure that there are sufficient children’s centres to meet the needs of local families, and a duty to consult where permanent changes are planned to local children’s centre provision. If a council decides to close a Sure Start children’s centre on a permanent basis, statutory guidance requires them to demonstrate that local children and families will not be adversely affected.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that safety measures introduced to nurseries re-opening as covid-19 lockdown restrictions were eased are (a) monitored and (b) maintained.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The department has published the ‘Actions for early years and childcare providers during the COVID-19 outbreak' guidance, which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures.
This guidance is for local authorities and all early years providers in England. For reception, schools should, in the most part, refer to the guidance for schools during the COVID-19 outbreak, although some of the information in the early years guidance is relevant as well. The guidance for schools is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/guidance-for-schools-coronavirus-covid-19.
Settings must comply with health and safety law, which requires them to assess risks and put in place proportionate control measures. Settings should thoroughly review their health and safety risk assessment and draw up plans as part of their wider opening. Settings should have active arrangements in place to monitor that the controls are effective, working as planned, and updated appropriately, for example when any issues are identified, or when there are changes in public health advice.