Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Eduaction, what plans his Department has to work with the university sector to introduce free sanitary products on campuses.
Answered by Vicky Ford
On 20 January 2020, the department launched a new scheme which makes free period products available for state-funded primary schools, secondary schools and colleges in England. The scheme remained in operation during partial school and college closures, and these organisations are still able to order a range of period products and distribute them to learners.
Higher education providers such as universities are autonomous bodies, independent from the government. It is for each individual provider to make their own decisions about how best to support their students. However, many providers may choose to provide certain services to support inclusion.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department has provided to dance schools to prepare for their safe reopening as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Indoor dance lessons for children are considered to be an out-of-school setting. Out-of-school settings are currently not able to reopen. However, as my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, confirmed on 23 June, holiday clubs and out-of-school clubs for children will be able to restart over the summer, subject to the science and with safety measures in place. Adjustments to current measures for these clubs will be part of Step 3 of the recovery strategy (from 4 July). We will be providing guidance for the sector on how to implement the protective measures necessary to open safely as soon as possible, this will cover group sizes and social distancing measures.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to allow the reopening of church facilities that are routinely used as early years settings.
Answered by Vicky Ford
From 1 June, places of worship and community centres are allowed to open for providers on the early years register which usually use those premises. Information about this can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures.
Providers should ensure they are acting in line with the protective measures and safe working guidance as well as the planning guide for early years and childcare settings. They should also ensure they are managing risks related to other users of the premises.
Guidance on protective measures and safe working guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings.
The planning guide for early years settings can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-early-years-and-childcare-settings-from-1-june.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of releasing an online version of the proposed Key Stage Two SATs examinations that were cancelled due to the covid-19 outbreak so that pupils can measure their own learning.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In response to the COVID-19 outbreak and the impact on schools, the department has removed all requirements on schools and local authorities relating to the 2020 statutory primary assessments, including statutory trialling activities.
The cancellation of statutory trialling means the rigorous process undertaken by the department for developing statutory assessments has been disrupted and it has not been possible to complete trialling for all the assessments intended for administration in 2021. As a result, the department will preserve the 2020 assessments for use in the next academic year, which also provides value for money for the taxpayer.
The statutory test papers from previous years are available online, so suitable high-quality alternatives are available without the release of the 2020 test papers.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that GCSE pupils taught by external providers have their learning validated in the absence of exams due to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.
Our latest guidance on GCSEs is set out below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-cancellation-of-gcses-as-and-a-levels-in-2020/coronavirus-covid-19-cancellation-of-gcses-as-and-a-levels-in-2020.
The independent qualifications regulator Ofqual is working closely with exam boards to develop and implement a system for awarding GCSE grades this summer that is as fair as possible. Ofqual is consulting until 29 April on a range of aspects of that system, including the issues the hon. Member has raised. The consultation is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/exceptional-arrangements-for-exam-grading-and-assessment-in-2020.
Ofqual will be responding on those issues as soon as possible after the consultation has closed.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) access to and (b) funding for creative subjects.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department wants all pupils to have access to high-quality creative education. Music, art and design, dance and drama, and design and technology are all statutory subjects in the National Curriculum.
Between 2016-20 the Department is investing nearly £500 million of funding for a diverse portfolio of music and creative arts education programmes including Music Education Hubs, the Music and Dance Scheme and the Dance and Drama awards. In early January, we also announced funding of £85 million for music and arts in 2020-21; £80 million for music hubs coupled with further investment in film, dance, theatre and design.
The Department believes that the arts help young people to learn creative skills and widen their horizons, so our Manifesto committed to offer an ‘arts premium’, worth over £100 million, to secondary schools to fund enriching activities for all pupils.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a requirement for school buses to have (a) seat belts and (b) sufficient seats for school children to avoid standing.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Buses and coaches used to take pupils to and from school are subject to Department for Transport legislation on vehicle safety. Guidance relating to the law on seat belts is available at the following links: www.gov.uk/government/publications/seat-belts-in-minibuses-coaches-and-other-buses/seat-belts-in-minibuses-coaches-and-other-buses and www.gov.uk/government/publications/seat-belts-on-urban-buses/seatbelts-on-urban-buses.
Public service buses designed for urban use are not required to have seat belts, including when they are used for school transport. Such buses are generally also allowed to carry standing passengers.
Local authorities may specify in their contracts with school transport providers that they will only accept vehicles fitted with seat belts.
The Department is currently consulting on revised statutory guidance on home to school transport and will consider as part of that consultation whether it should include guidance on this issue.