Asked by: Amanda Solloway (Conservative - Derby North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to remove the presence of asbestos on school sites in (a) England and Wales and (b) Derby North constituency.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The issue of asbestos in schools is a serious one. Policy on the effective management and removal of asbestos at Welsh school sites is devolved to the Welsh Government, but in England it is one of the department’s priorities in order to ensure that our schools are safe for children and teachers.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which is the lead regulator on managing asbestos, advise that as long as asbestos is in good condition and unlikely to be damaged or disturbed, it is not a significant risk to health.
The Department directly funds the removal of asbestos through schemes such as the Priority Schools Building Programme and provides capital funding for asbestos management and removal where appropriate for those schools that have identified that asbestos is in poor condition or poses a high risk of deterioration.
We also provide support to those who are legally responsible for managing asbestos in schools by providing targeted guidance to schools on the effective management of asbestos in their schools.
The duty holder has the legal responsibility of effectively managing asbestos in schools. In schools where asbestos poses a high risk of disturbance or is deteriorating, the duty holder should remove asbestos using capital funding that has been provided by the Department.
The Department is not committing to the removal of asbestos in all schools, as blanket and accelerated removal of asbestos in schools is potentially more dangerous and may involve greater risk to school children and staff.
It is, however, the aim of the government that, over time, as more school buildings are replaced and refurbished, all asbestos will be removed from schools.
Asked by: Amanda Solloway (Conservative - Derby North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school leavers in Derby North constituency who went to university in the last five years for which figures are available were (a) entitled and (b) not entitled to free school meals.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Information is given on the number and percentage of students completing Key Stage 5 study (A level and other Level 3 qualifications) in mainstream state-funded schools and colleges, before progressing to study at a UK higher education institution for at least two terms the following year, in each of the last five years for which information is available. Free school meal eligibility is as recorded when students were in Year 11.
The table below show figures for the Derby North constituency for the years 2010/11 to 2014/15. Numbers of pupils are shown rounded to the nearest ten in line with how published information was shown in these years. Percentages are calculated using unrounded figures.
In each of the last five years ten students in the Derby North constituency (rounded to the nearest ten), who had been eligible for free school meals in Year 11 and completed Key Stage 5 study, progressed to higher education. This compares to between 190 and 220 students who had not been eligible for free school meals completing Key Stage 5 study in the latest year. Due to the small numbers involved, the proportion of students represented by these numbers has varied year on year.
Information on pupil destinations at local authority, regional and national level is published annually at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-destinations
| Number of students completing KS5 | Number at UK Higher Education Institution | % at UK Higher Education Institution (calculated on unrounded figures) | |||
(rounded to nearest 10) | (rounded to nearest 10) | |||||
FSM | Non-FSM | FSM | Non-FSM | FSM | Non-FSM | |
2014/15 (2013/14 KS5 cohort) | 20 | 320 | 10 | 210 | 64% | 65% |
2013/14 (2012/13 KS5 cohort) | 20 | 310 | 10 | 190 | 43% | 61% |
2012/13 (2011/12 KS5 cohort) | 30 | 310 | 10 | 200 | 32% | 63% |
2011/12 (2010/11 KS5 cohort) | 20 | 300 | 10 | 190 | 50% | 64% |
2010/11 (2009/10 KS5 cohort) | 20 | 330 | 10 | 220 | 55% | 66% |
Asked by: Amanda Solloway (Conservative - Derby North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that apprenticeships in Derby North constituency are undertaken by people from less-affluent households.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Apprenticeships are paid jobs that give people from all regions and backgrounds the opportunity to reach their potential - acquiring transferable skills much valued in the labour market without having to contribute to the costs of their learning. The locations and sectors where apprenticeships are available are determined by employers choosing to offer opportunities and employ apprentices.
We will be publishing details of our funding policy for apprenticeships in England from May 2017 shortly, which will demonstrate how we will provide opportunities for people regardless of their background.
We will also continue to demonstrate, with Traineeships and our national campaigns, that an apprenticeship can be a very worthwhile and achievable goal for those from less well-off households.
Asked by: Amanda Solloway (Conservative - Derby North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing life skills into secondary education.
Answered by Edward Timpson
We are clear that as part of schools’ duty to teach a broad and balanced curriculum, all young people should be provided with a curriculum that prepares them for success in adult life. High quality personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) teaching has a vital role to play in this, helping young people understand the world around them, building resilience and helping them to make good choices and stay safe. We have made it clear in the introduction to the national curriculum that all schools should make provision for high quality, age appropriate PSHE, drawing on examples of good practice.
During the Education Select Committee hearing in September 2016, the Secretary of State agreed that we need to look again at how schools deliver high quality PSHE. We are considering all the options and will come to a view in due course..
Asked by: Amanda Solloway (Conservative - Derby North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will ensure that the review of fair funding for early years education includes steps to close the attainment gap in children at age five.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
This Government is committed to narrowing the gap in attainment between the most disadvantaged children and their peers, including in the early years. We will be investing over £1 billion more per year by 2019-20 to fund our commitments on the early years entitlements – this includes £300 million per year from 2017-18 for a significant increase to the hourly rate paid for the two, three and four year old entitlements.
The 2014-15 Early Years Foundation Stage Profile results tell us that the proportion of children achieving a good level of development continues to increase – 66% in 2015, compared to 60% in 2014 and 52% in 2013. A higher proportion of children eligible for free school meals are achieving a good level of development – 51% in 2015 compared to 45% in 2014.
We need to continue this improvement. This is why we propose an additional needs factor in our new early years national funding formula, to channel funding towards local authorities with a higher relative proportion of children with additional needs.
The Government already provides additional funding for the most disadvantaged three- and four-year olds through the Early Years Pupil Premium. This will continue as a separate funding stream, additional to the early years national funding formula.
Asked by: Amanda Solloway (Conservative - Derby North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential of the early years workforce strategy to increase recruitment and retention of early years teachers in (a) Derby North and (b) England.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government recognises the importance of the early years workforce in improving quality and delivering better outcomes for children. That is why we are committed to publishing an early years workforce strategy. The national strategy will set out how we will help to remove barriers to attracting, retaining and developing staff. As part of the strategy, we will look at the barriers to growing the body of graduates in the workforce in England.
The Government currently delivers early years initial teacher training places in England. We fund eligible graduates to undertake the training, and provide student bursaries. Information about training routes is available on the Get into Teaching website, available at: https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/
Asked by: Amanda Solloway (Conservative - Derby North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to improve under-performing schools in the East Midlands.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Eighty two percent of all schools in the East Midlands region are rated as Good or Outstanding by Ofsted, but there remain pockets of underperformance, and we are taking a range of actions to tackle them. The Education and Adoption Act gives us powers to intervene more quickly in failing schools and to tackle for the first time schools that have been coasting. Where a maintained school is judged inadequate by Ofsted it will immediately receive an academy order, leading to a sponsor taking responsibility for improving standards. The Act also provides consistent powers to take action in inadequate academies and the Regional Schools Commissioner for the East Midlands and Humber will not hesitate to intervene when academies under-perform.
We are also creating Achieving Excellence Areas in areas such as the East Midlands to create rapid and sustainable improvement. Further details are set out in: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/educational-excellence-everywhere
Asked by: Amanda Solloway (Conservative - Derby North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that deaf parents receive adequate support so that they can participate in their children's schooling and all related school activities undertaken by parents.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The Public Sector Equality Duty (at section 149 of the Equality Act 2010) requires public bodies, and those carrying out public functions, such as schools, to have due regard to the following aims when designing policies and delivering services:
This includes discrimination against people with a disability, such as deafness. Public bodies must be able to show how equality issues have been considered when they develop, implement, evaluate and review policies, services and processes.
We are committed to ensuring all parents have a more significant voice in all schools. Through the new Parent Portal, we will ensure parents have access to clear and simple information about the school system and how to support their child. This will work alongside the new performance tables website which is making it easier for parents to find out how well their child’s school is performing and to compare schools across a range of key measures.