Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many secondary school music teachers left the teaching profession in the period between (a) 2010 and 2015, (b) 2015 and 2020 and (c) 2020 and 2023.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Information on the number of teachers leaving state-funded schools and the number of teachers by subject in state-funded secondary schools in England are published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ national statistic available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
In the year to November 2022, the full time equivalent (FTE) of 43,997 qualified teachers left the state-funded sector in England, while 47,954 qualified teachers joined.
The latest available data shows that in November 2022, the latest data available, there were 7,184 FTE teachers teaching music in state-funded secondary schools, a slight increase from 7,003 in the previous year.
Full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers1 of music in state-funded secondary schools
2011/12 to 2022/23
| Number of teachers of all years |
2011/12 | 8,043 |
2012/13 | 7,432 |
2013/14 | 7,268 |
2014/15 | 7,109 |
2015/16 | 6,862 |
2016/17 | 6,720 |
2017/18 | 6,480 |
2018/19 | 6,525 |
2019/20 | 6,543 |
2020/21 | 6,837 |
2021/22 | 7,003 |
2022/23 | 7,184 |
Source: School Workforce Census, published at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/94487fba-1bd5-4bef-b77d-08dbd08e1875
1: Teachers were counted once against each subject and key stage they taught, irrespective of the time spent teaching.
The requested figures for music teachers leaving the teaching profession are not available.
The quality of teaching remains the single most important factor in improving outcomes for children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Department plans to update the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy, originally published in 2019, and build on existing reforms to ensure every child has an excellent teacher, including in music. The strategy update will reflect progress in delivering these reforms, and set out priorities for the coming years.
For those starting initial teacher training in music in the 2024/25 academic year, the Department is offering £10,000 tax-free bursaries. This should attract more music teachers into the profession and support schools in delivering at least one hour of music lessons a week.
The Government will also be placing a stronger emphasis on teacher development as part of the Music Hub programme in the future, including peer-to-peer support through new Lead Schools in every Hub.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2023 to Question 198639 on Childcare, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that there are an adequate number of (a) trained staff, (b) safe premises and (c) registered places to offer all eligible children access to 30 hours a week of free childcare for 38 weeks each year in Worsley and Eccles South constituency.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Having enough staff in place to deliver high-quality education and care will be key to ensuring the successful delivery of our record expansion of early years entitlements. Driving up interest in early years careers and ensuring there are enough opportunities for career development is a priority for this government.
In the government’s Spring Budget 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children and the economy. By 2027/28, this Government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
The department is developing a range of new workforce initiatives including the launch of a new national campaign, planned for the beginning of 2024, to boost interest in the sector and support the recruitment and retention of talented staff. To increase interest in early years, we are working to remove unnecessary barriers to entering the sector as well as considering how to make early years qualifications more accessible, coordinated and relevant.
Over the summer the department launched a competition for Early Years Skills Bootcamps with a pathway to an accelerated level 3 Early Years Educator apprenticeship, and we will consider degree apprenticeship routes so everyone from junior staff to senior leaders can easily move into or indeed enhance their career in the sector. We are also working across government to boost early years career awareness by collaborating with the Department for Work and Pensions and Careers & Enterprise Company to promote the importance and value of a career in early years.
Regarding safe premises, with a growing number of staff joining the sector, the safety of our youngest children remains as important as ever. All new and existing early years providers must keep children safe and promote their welfare. The Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework sets the standards that all early years providers in England must meet to ensure that children are kept healthy and safe. More information can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1170108/EYFS_framework_from_September_2023.pdf.
Under these requirements, all owners and managers of childcare settings have a responsibility to ensure that their premises, including overall floor space and outdoor spaces, are fit for purpose and suitable for the age of children cared for and the activities provided on the premises. All providers must also comply with the requirements of health and safety legislation, including fire safety and hygiene requirements. At all times when children are present, at least one person who has a current paediatric first aid certificate must be on the premises.
Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the Early education and childcare statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities should report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-childcare--2.
The Department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action the local authority is taking to address those issues and where needed support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report entitled SEND review: Right Support, Right Place, Right Time, published in March 2022, whether he plans to implement that review's proposal to introduce a pre-defined list of educational settings for families with disabled children to choose from.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
In the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alernative Provision Green Paper the department set out a proposal to provide a tailored list of settings to support parents and carers to express an informed preference for a suitable placement. We are continuing to explore options that build on the benefits identified through the recent consultation, and address the challenges set out in the Green Paper.
The consultation closed on 22 July 2022. We are currently reviewing the feedback and using this along with continued engagement with the system, to inform the next stage of delivering improvements for children, young people and their families.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to publish his Department's response to the consultation entitled SEND review: right support, right place, right time, which closed on 22 July 2022.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department is currently reviewing the feedback received during the consultation period. The department is using this feedback, along with continued engagement with the system, to inform the next stage of delivering improvements for children, young people and their families.
The department will continue to support the system in the immediate term to deliver change and continue to improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people with special education needs and disabilities, and those who need alternative provision.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 29 September 2021 to Question 62680, on Pre-school Education, what assessment he has made of the consistency of early years services that are specifically non-childcare for children up to five years old across the UK.
Answered by Will Quince
The government is committed to championing family hubs. Local service delivery will vary from place to place, reflecting the needs of the local population. Family hubs bring together a wide range of services, including non-childcare services, for families with children of all ages (0-19) or up to 25 with special educational needs and disabilities, and contain a great Start for Life offer (for children aged 0-2) at their core.
The department has announced a £300 million package to transform services for parents and babies, carers, and children in half of local authorities across England. This will provide thousands of families access to support when they need it, ensuring that babies have the best start in life, as set out in ‘Best Start for Life: a vision for the critical 1,001 days’, the Early Years Review led by my right hon. Friend, the Member for South Northamptonshire, and delivering on our manifesto commitment to champion family hubs.
We are determined to ensure that family hubs are consistently applying the best evidence on what works in delivering family services. That is why we have established:
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 September 2021 to Question 51659, on Pre-school Education: North West, what assessment he has made of the impact of the covid-19 outbreak on the accessibility of early years services in the North West region.
Answered by Will Quince
Access to the government’s entitlement offers remain high. As of January 2021, 87% of all three year olds and 93% of all four year olds, including those in a reception place, were registered for some funded early education with 30 hours childcare benefitting around 330,000 children in January 2021.
In response to the Action for Children report entitled ‘Beyond reach: Barriers to accessing early years services for children’ published on 21 September 2021, the most common reason for not using childcare is preference. Around seven in ten (69%) parents who were not using childcare said they would rather look after their children themselves, while only 16% said it was because they could not afford childcare. More information can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/853358/CEYSP_2019_Report.pdf#:~:text=Responses%20to%20the%20Childcare%20and%20Early%20Years%20Survey,prepare%20their%20child%20for%20school%20%2830%25%29%20%28Table%203.6%29.
The department’s Parent Poll, conducted by Ipsos MORI in July 2021, shows that more than nine in ten (94%) parents whose child used formal childcare before COVID-19 reported that their child was using formal childcare at the time of the interview. In addition, when comparing formal childcare use with the previous term (January to March 2021), 93% of children using formal childcare in the previous term were using formal childcare in July 2021, and just 5% were using no childcare at all (neither formal nor informal childcare). Among parents whose child was not receiving formal childcare in July 2021, the most common reasons were that the parent never uses formal childcare (23%), that the childcare available was too expensive (21%), and that childcare was not needed as the parent(s) was on maternity or paternity leave (18%). Only 6% of parents whose child was not receiving formal childcare said they would like to use formal childcare but have not been able to find a suitable provider. This is only approximately 2% of all parents. More information can be found here: https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/childcare-use-perceived-impact-child-development-information-working-home-and-awareness-and-use.
We recognise that the needs of many parents will have changed dramatically in line with the reopening of the economy and the department continues to investigate how we can improve these experiences for parents.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 September 2021 to Question 51660, on Pre-school Education, what assessment he has made of the consistency of early years services for children up to five years old across the UK.
Answered by Will Quince
Access to the government’s entitlement offers remain high. As of January 2021, 87% of all three year olds and 93% of all four year olds, including those in a reception place, were registered for some funded early education with 30 hours childcare benefitting around 330,000 children in January 2021.
In response to the Action for Children report entitled ‘Beyond reach: Barriers to accessing early years services for children’ published on 21 September 2021, the most common reason for not using childcare is preference. Around seven in ten (69%) parents who were not using childcare said they would rather look after their children themselves, while only 16% said it was because they could not afford childcare. More information can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/853358/CEYSP_2019_Report.pdf#:~:text=Responses%20to%20the%20Childcare%20and%20Early%20Years%20Survey,prepare%20their%20child%20for%20school%20%2830%25%29%20%28Table%203.6%29.
The department’s Parent Poll, conducted by Ipsos MORI in July 2021, shows that more than nine in ten (94%) parents whose child used formal childcare before COVID-19 reported that their child was using formal childcare at the time of the interview. In addition, when comparing formal childcare use with the previous term (January to March 2021), 93% of children using formal childcare in the previous term were using formal childcare in July 2021, and just 5% were using no childcare at all (neither formal nor informal childcare). Among parents whose child was not receiving formal childcare in July 2021, the most common reasons were that the parent never uses formal childcare (23%), that the childcare available was too expensive (21%), and that childcare was not needed as the parent(s) was on maternity or paternity leave (18%). Only 6% of parents whose child was not receiving formal childcare said they would like to use formal childcare but have not been able to find a suitable provider. This is only approximately 2% of all parents. More information can be found here: https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/childcare-use-perceived-impact-child-development-information-working-home-and-awareness-and-use.
We recognise that the needs of many parents will have changed dramatically in line with the reopening of the economy and the department continues to investigate how we can improve these experiences for parents.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 September 2021 to Question 51582, on Pre-school Education, and with reference to the Action for Children report entitled Beyond reach: Barriers to accessing early years services for children, published on 21 September 2021, what plans he has to improve accessibility to early years services.
Answered by Will Quince
Access to the government’s entitlement offers remain high. As of January 2021, 87% of all three year olds and 93% of all four year olds, including those in a reception place, were registered for some funded early education with 30 hours childcare benefitting around 330,000 children in January 2021.
In response to the Action for Children report entitled ‘Beyond reach: Barriers to accessing early years services for children’ published on 21 September 2021, the most common reason for not using childcare is preference. Around seven in ten (69%) parents who were not using childcare said they would rather look after their children themselves, while only 16% said it was because they could not afford childcare. More information can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/853358/CEYSP_2019_Report.pdf#:~:text=Responses%20to%20the%20Childcare%20and%20Early%20Years%20Survey,prepare%20their%20child%20for%20school%20%2830%25%29%20%28Table%203.6%29.
The department’s Parent Poll, conducted by Ipsos MORI in July 2021, shows that more than nine in ten (94%) parents whose child used formal childcare before COVID-19 reported that their child was using formal childcare at the time of the interview. In addition, when comparing formal childcare use with the previous term (January to March 2021), 93% of children using formal childcare in the previous term were using formal childcare in July 2021, and just 5% were using no childcare at all (neither formal nor informal childcare). Among parents whose child was not receiving formal childcare in July 2021, the most common reasons were that the parent never uses formal childcare (23%), that the childcare available was too expensive (21%), and that childcare was not needed as the parent(s) was on maternity or paternity leave (18%). Only 6% of parents whose child was not receiving formal childcare said they would like to use formal childcare but have not been able to find a suitable provider. This is only approximately 2% of all parents. More information can be found here: https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/childcare-use-perceived-impact-child-development-information-working-home-and-awareness-and-use.
We recognise that the needs of many parents will have changed dramatically in line with the reopening of the economy and the department continues to investigate how we can improve these experiences for parents.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report by the Disabled Children’s Partnership, Then There Was Silence, published on 10 September 2021, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding in that report that fewer than four in 10 children with an Education and Health Care Plan attended school between January and March 2021.
Answered by Will Quince
We welcome the research from the Disabled Children’s Partnership (DCP). The impact of the lockdown in early 2021 on children and young people with education, health and care plans (EHCP) was reflected in Government policy, including ensuring children with EHCPs were provided with suitable, high quality remote education. Guidance to schools on meeting this duty for children with EHCPs included putting in place reasonable adjustments as necessary, so that pupils and students with SEND could successfully access remote education alongside their peers.
While attendance is now far higher, with approximately 87% of all pupils with an EHCP on roll in state-funded schools in attendance on 16 September 2021[1], we recognise the implications of being out of school for children and young people with SEND who have an EHCP. We have prioritised education recovery funding for specialist settings by providing additional uplifts, recognising the additional costs involved. We have also ensured that settings have the flexibility to target this to meet the needs of their pupils and students. In addition, we continue to work hard to ensure children and young people are given access to therapies and equipment so that the right support is in place for all children and families, including addressing the backlog in assessments.
We continue to work closely with the DCP and monitor to identify the impacts the COVID-19 outbreak has had on children and young people with SEND and the implications for our policies. We also continue to closely monitor attendance rates.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to promote and improve access to early years services.
Answered by Will Quince
High quality, accessible childcare is important in ensuring that every child has the best possible start in life. As of 31 March 2021, 96% of providers on the Ofsted Early Years Register were judged Good or Outstanding, a substantial increase from 74% in 2012. Ofsted are responsible for monitoring the quality of provision.
The department continues to monitor the sufficiency of childcare through regular attendance data collection and monitoring the open or closed status of providers. We also discuss sufficiency of provision in regular conversations with local authorities. Local authorities are not currently reporting any significant sufficiency or supply issues and we have not seen a significant number of parents unable to secure a childcare place, either this term or since early years settings re-opened fully on 1 June 2020. The department provides support to local authorities with low take up of the entitlements.
All 3 and 4 year olds are entitled to 15 hours free childcare each week, providing children with high-quality early education. Take-up of this entitlement is high, with 90% of 3 and 4 year olds registered for a 15 hours per week free early education place in January 2021. Eligible working parents of 3 and 4 year olds are entitled to an additional 15 hours to help them with the additional costs associated with childcare. Households on a low income of under £15,400 (or £16,190 if receiving child tax credits) can qualify for 15 hours free childcare for 2 year olds.
In addition to free early education entitlements, the government offers Tax-Free Childcare for children from 0 to 11 years old, or up to 16 if disabled. For every £8 parents pay into their Tax-Free Childcare account, the government will pay £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 per child per year. For disabled children, the maximum is £4,000 per year. In total, 308,000 families used Tax-Free Childcare for 364,000 children in June 2021.
Working parents on a low income may also be eligible for help with up to 85% of their childcare costs (for children under 16) through Universal Credit Childcare. This is subject to a monthly limit of £646 for one child or £1108 for two or more children, payable in arrears.
As part of the COVID-19 education recovery strategy we are investing £180 million for training for early years staff to support the very youngest children’s learning and development. This includes Nuffield Early Language Intervention, improving the language skills of reception age children who need it most during COVID-19. Two thirds of eligible primary schools have signed up and we estimate 90,000 reception age children will get extra support with their speech and language development. Further detail on the additional training will be made available in due course.