Oral Answers to Questions

Ben Spencer Excerpts

Monday 27th February 2023 Commons Chamber

[Nick Gibb]

Of course, it was this Government who introduced the universal infant free school meal, which means that 1.25 million children in infant schools are receiving a free school meal. We have increased from 1.7 million to 1.9 million the number of children eligible for free school meals, so thanks to this Government something like a third of children today are receiving a nutritious meal at lunchtime in our schools.

[Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)]

5. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that education and training programmes meet local skills needs.

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

13. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that education and training programmes meet local skills needs.

[The Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education (Robert Halfon)]

We are working with colleagues across Government and put employers at the heart of local skills systems, with the roll-out of 38 local skills improvement plans. These employer-led plans will help ensure that skills provision better meets the needs of employers, and we are also ensuring that apprenticeships, T-levels and higher technical qualifications are all employer-led qualifications.

[Dr Spencer]

At a schools and skills meeting that I hosted a few weeks ago in my constituency, bringing together businesses and school leaders to enhance opportunities, a representative from a special educational needs school reminded us of the importance of these opportunities for all children. Does my right hon. Friend agree that work and training opportunities are essential for those of all abilities and all ages, including those with special educational needs or living with disabilities?

[Robert Halfon]

My hon. Friend is a champion of schools and skills in his constituency. He is absolutely right to have a passion for making sure that children with disabilities or special educational needs have a chance to climb the skills ladder of opportunity. We are investing £18 million to try to help those SEND students with employment opportunities, as well as ensuring that careers guidance helps them at every step of the way to get the career chances that they deserve.

Schools White Paper

Ben Spencer Excerpts

Monday 28th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Nadhim Zahawi]

Mental health is one of the areas we have been looking at with the Children’s Commissioner, including through her very good “The Big Ask” survey of half a million children. In May last year, we announced £17 million of investment to build mental health support in education settings. We have invested further to make sure that the mental health leads in more than 8,000 schools and colleges have the necessary support and knowledge to support young people.

[Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)]

I welcome the White Paper and thank my right hon. Friend for his passion and drive to deliver the best possible education to all children throughout the country, no matter whether they live or what their background is.

This morning, I caught up with some of my local school leaders, as I do regularly, and although they were interested to hear about what was coming up in this announcement there was naturally a bit of trepidation about further change on the back of the covid pandemic. Does my right hon. Friend agree that we need to make sure the changes are streamlined so that they cause as minimal an amount of disruption for school teachers as possible?

[Nadhim Zahawi]

My hon. Friend raises a really important point. The frontline—the 461,000 teachers and 217,000 teaching assistants—and the support staff and leaders in our education system have gone above and beyond to make sure that schools reopened, stayed open and dealt with omicron. We have looked carefully at the evidence, which is why one of the things we have not done is change the curriculum. A knowledge-rich curriculum is important to make sure we deliver the outcomes we so passionately want to deliver for young people.

Oral Answers to Questions

Ben Spencer Excerpts

Monday 31st January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Will Quince]

The hon. Lady is right to raise this issue. We have the independent review into children’s social care led by Josh MacAlister, and I would be happy to meet her to discuss this important issue further.

[Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)]

I recently met my school leaders and heard how, in a recent inspection by Ofsted, no account had been taken of staff absence due to covid. Can my hon. Friend confirm that Ofsted should take into account covid impact when inspecting and set that out in writing?

[Mr Robin Walker]

I can say to my hon. Friend that having discussed this matter with Her Majesty’s chief inspector, I know that she does take such impacts into account. Ofsted is offering deferrals to schools facing particularly high levels of staff absence, but I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the case to which he refers.

Education

Ben Spencer Excerpts

Tuesday 19th October 2021 Ministerial Corrections

[Alex Burghart]

The challenges that we currently face are obviously substantial, but great improvements have been made. At the end of the previous term, attendance in school was at 76.7%; as of Thursday last week, attendance was at 91.9%, with 99.9% of all schools open…The hon. Lady asked about face masks; at some stages in the pandemic we have had face coverings in corridors, social distancing and bubbles, but the evidence now says that we can move away from that.

[Dr Spencer]

It is great to see my hon. Friend in his place at the Dispatch Box. I welcome the work this Government have done to make it a priority to keep schools open for face-to-face learning. In contrast, Labour equivocated over whether they were even safe to reopen. Does he agree that if Labour were in power, our schools would probably be closed for face-to-face learning and our children left behind?.

[Alex Burghart]

I thank my hon. Friend for his thoughtful question. We have been very clear throughout that we wanted to get schools open as soon as it was safe to do so. We have done that. We have managed to increase attendance from 75% at the end of last term to 91.1% at the start of this term.

[Official Report, 23 September 2021, Vol. 701, c. 431.]

Letter of correction from the Under-Secretary of State for Education, the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Alex Burghart):

An error has been identified in my response to my hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Dr Spencer).

The correct information should have been:

Coronavirus: Education Setting Attendance and Support for Pupils

Ben Spencer Excerpts

Thursday 23rd September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Alex Burghart]

My heart stopped for a moment because I thought the hon. Gentleman said that he looked forward to my appearing in front of the Education Committee this afternoon, but the autumn is fine—probably. He raises a very important point, because obviously we do want to see children back in school. As he will have heard me say, we have substantial improvement on where we were at the end of last term. Ordinarily of a September, pre-pandemic, we would expect about 95% of children to be in school. Last Thursday, the figure was 91.9%. We are very keen to make up that gap and we are working tirelessly to do so. One of the things I have not mentioned is that the DFE has REACT—regional education and children’s teams—working across the country with local authorities, regional schools commissioners and schools themselves to clamp down on outbreaks where they take place and to help children to get back into school as quickly as possible.

[Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)]

It is great to see my hon. Friend in his place at the Dispatch Box. I welcome the work this Government have done to make it a priority to keep schools open for face-to-face learning. In contrast, Labour equivocated over whether they were even safe to reopen. Does he agree that if Labour were in power, our schools would probably be closed for face-to-face learning and our children left behind?

[Alex Burghart]

I thank my hon. Friend for his thoughtful question. We have been very clear throughout that we wanted to get schools open as soon as it was safe to do so. We have done that. We have managed to increase attendance from 75% at the end of last term to 91.1% at the start of this term.[Official Report, 19 October 2021, Vol. 701, c. 4MC.] There is a lot further to go. However, it is the roll-out of our vaccination programme across the country, with the high uptake and the hard work of our health service, that has enabled us to get to this point. Children are better off in education and they are able to be in education because of the steps this Government have taken.

Covid-19: Education Settings

Ben Spencer Excerpts

Tuesday 6th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

The right hon. Lady is right to say that I know Hull very well, as my family come from Hull. I recognise that schools have faced great challenges, not just in the great city of Kingston upon Hull but right across the country. That is why our support for schools is not just about tutoring. She will be aware that there is so much evidence showing that small-group tutoring delivers some of the best educational catch-up and results of any intervention, in terms of money invested. Covid recovery support premium has gone out to schools, so they are able to build on further actions and interventions that they themselves can take to support children to catch up on the work they have missed.

[Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)]

I also welcome the statement and thank my right hon. Friend. I thank everyone—the families and the staff—who has worked so hard to ensure that education has been delivered to children over the course of the pandemic. However, will my right hon. Friend clarify a point around the self-isolation requirements? As every parent knows, children—especially very young children—have coughs and colds and temperatures two a penny. At the moment, a temperature leads to a family self-isolation requirement, causing huge disruption to the child’s educational development and a huge impact on families. Can he unpack a bit what the requirements will be around children developing coughs and colds, particularly in early years, and what guidance and protocols will be taken forward? Will isolation be necessary, will testing be necessary, or can it be passed over if it is just a simple cough or cold?

Catch-up Premium

Ben Spencer Excerpts

Tuesday 15th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)]

I start by again thanking the teachers who work in my constituency; the people who work in and around schools and early years; those who work at our university, Royal Holloway; and everyone who is involved in supporting, looking after and educating our children. It has been a very difficult year for everyone, in particular for our young people and everyone who works in the education sector. I just want to say thanks to them again.

I really enjoyed last week’s debate, so I was absolutely delighted and surprised that the Opposition seemed to enjoy my contribution so much that they wanted to hear it again. Here we go:

“Education is one of the best opportunities”—[Official Report, 9 June 2021; Vol. 696, c. 981.]—

but if Members wish to see my speech, they may go to Hansard or to my website, where it is up and subtitled; the very daring may subscribe to my newsletter for regular updates.

This groundhog day debate gives me the chance to say something that did not make the cut of my education debate speech version 1.0, so I will try a different ending. We have talked a lot about education, and it is said that irony is a very difficult concept to teach, perhaps best taught through example. This past year, we have moved heaven and earth to keep schools open. We tried to reopen them as soon as possible, but the Opposition and the unions pushed back. Now, they complain that the support is not enough. The irony, a lesson to us all!

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

I think we now go to Paul Howell.

Investing in Children and Young People

Ben Spencer Excerpts

Wednesday 9th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)]

Education is one of the best opportunities we can provide for young people; it is the best leveller-up. Sadly, our children have felt the burden of this pandemic, with school closures, cancelled exams, learning at home, and enrichment and extracurricular activities stopped. It is on us to fix that and to ensure that our children do not become the lost covid generation.

That is why I very much welcome the Government’s package of support and work on education recovery, and in particular the discretion given to our school leaders, the training and support for their profession, and the careful thought that is being put into longer-term, sustainable interventions to support education. I particularly support the provisions mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis). The impact of this pandemic will be felt for a generation, and our response must be equally broad and sustained.

I have regular Zoom meetings with my school leaders, and the message from each meeting is clear. Yes, things are tough, but in my nurseries, primary schools, secondary schools, prep schools and colleges—state and independent —our teachers have risen to the challenge. They have got on with it, and they continue to deliver for children living in Runnymede and Weybridge. We owe them all a debt of gratitude. Honestly, I believe that it is only through their passion and dedication that they have been able to continue delivering so much despite such adversity. I say to all my teachers and staff working in education: thank you.

However, the best way that we can thank those staff is to listen to them and respond to concerns that they raise. My school leaders tell me that they will do whatever is needed to support our kids, but they need help with one thing in particular: what is coming down the line. They put in the work, the graft, the inspiration and the passion—my God, do they do all they can for the children they teach!—but they need warning of what is coming down the line. I think there may be a few more twists in the tale in terms of what this pandemic could throw up—third waves, no waves, winter pressures. Whatever the future holds, we must give schools as much run-in time, preparation and contingency planning as possible so that they can start laying the groundwork. I ask the Minister, please, as part of our recovery plan, can my teachers have as much time and contingency planning as possible for whatever the future may hold?

I turn to the Opposition’s motion of regret. Last year, while we did everything we possibly could to keep schools open to the prevent the disruption and damage that we knew that would cause down the track, the Opposition were demanding closures. A few months ago, we sought to reopen schools as soon as we possibly could, yet we faced pressure from the Opposition and the unions to keep them closed. Where were these champions of education then? And now we mount an incredible package of support and they express regret. You couldn’t make it up.

Now is the time, not for political posturing or point-scoring, but for addressing the real issues facing our children, families and schools. This debate should not be about who can promise the biggest headline, but about how to deliver long-term support where it is needed, to ensure the best opportunities and education for our children, as we are doing.

STEM Subjects: Science and Discovery Centres

Ben Spencer Excerpts

Wednesday 24th March 2021 Westminster Hall

[Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the Science and Discovery Centres’ support for education in science and careers in STEM subjects.

It is a pleasure to speak with you in the Chair, Mrs Miller, and to have the opportunity to discuss this vital subject.

The debate is timely, as we talked this week about the road map to recovery and our ambitious plans to consolidate the UK’s position as a world leader of science and innovation. I start by thanking the Association for Science and Discovery Centres for its work and support, in particular Dr Penny Fidler, Chas Bishop, Linda Conlon and Professor Alice Roberts for their work and for their discussions with me, and every staff member, volunteer and everyone who teaches and inspires science. I will talk about science’s role in our society before moving on to the role of science and discovery centres and support for our education, workforce and careers in STEM subjects—science, technology, engineering and maths.

Science brings hope and progress towards a better future. Throughout the pandemic, we have seen that the solutions and the way out have been driven by science. Now, we talk about new vaccines and new treatments, built on the back of thousands of hours of research and development and an immense scientific and engineering workforce. Throughout history, the UK has been central to many scientific innovations and discoveries, from Jenner’s work on the smallpox vaccine to Watson, Crick and Rosalind Franklin’s discovery of DNA—the seed that grew to offer hope today in our world-leading genomic sequencing programme surveying new covid variants.

Science also offers hope for the future when we look at the broader challenges that we face. For climate change, we look to science to clean up our pollution and to provide sustainability. For novel threats, we look to science to respond and defend us. For economic pressures and dropping productivity, we look to science to innovate. Even for how we talk in this debate, with Members appearing on Zoom, we look to science to keep us connected.

Scientific method is founded on the principle that one can never prove, only disprove, which means that we always strive for better understanding, ever challenging and changing, and ever improving. Science is a deeply human endeavour that dares, with uncompromising audacity, to hope that nothing is beyond the reach of mankind’s understanding, that knowledge can be gained and the world and the universe understood with the tools of hard work, discipline and careful observation. Each discovery builds on the work of others, all part of this great human endeavour—striving, yearning, learning and progress.

We depend on science for our future prosperity, for our health and wellbeing, and for our very survival. We need a future workforce ready to build on the work that we do today, to make new discoveries, build the machines and buildings, and offer new hope for generations to come. We must invest in science and ensure that it sits centre stage in our national plans, beginning with education and reaching right through our social, cultural and economic policies.

The Government have rightly made science, innovation, research and development the backbone of their plans for economic recovery and sustainability, to turn us into a science superpower—or, I would argue, to return us to being a science superpower. We must celebrate science and we must teach it to our children, but most of all we need to build and consolidate our scientific workforce for the future.

We know that women and people from disadvantaged backgrounds are under-represented in science, technology, engineering and maths—the so-called STEM subjects. Stereotypes and social barriers can mean that many young people are not exposed to science, or consider it alien. Science, maths and engineering can be portrayed as “unfeminine”; sadly, Hansard cannot record me tutting in disgust at the nonsense of that statement, but there we are.

This is where science and discovery centres come in, playing a vital role in breaking down these barriers. Science and discovery centres—community hubs of science engagement—showcase the wonder of science. They take a lead role in our nation’s engagement with science. They are places where people of all ages can learn and discover for themselves what science is, and they also support schools in bringing the science curriculum to life.

Science can often be seen as dry and intellectual, and —dare I say it—geeky, but at its core is the experimentation with and observation of the world and its natural phenomena. Science and discovery centres reintroduce this link and its wonder in a way that is interesting and exciting, but above all accessible. As with all engagement activities, it is the staff and volunteers who are the beating heart of the institutions, transferring their wonder at science on to the next generation. That can come through launching a water rocket, touching a lunar lander or building an earthquake-resistant tower or through something as simple as watching leafcutter ants demolish a plant.

Science and discovery centres allow us all to discover science and nature. Pre-pandemic, over the course of a year they showed almost 10 million school-age children the wonder of science. They inspired disadvantaged and under-represented groups into education, and set the path to careers in STEM subjects.

Of course, science engagement is not limited to science and discovery centres. In my constituency, Royal Holloway, University of London, and Brooklands College do great science and engineering engagement activities respectively, and today I want to celebrate all centres of learning and science engagement. In particular, I call on the Government to support all these centres as we open up again, and as part of our plan for the recovery of education after covid.

The covid pandemic has hit everyone hard, and science and discovery centres, like many other charities, have had to close their doors. Many of their staff have been made redundant. Some centres have shifted their offering online, but it is just not the same as being in the centre and seeing science in action, up close and personal.

We have heard a lot about the impact that the covid pandemic has had on children’s education, and rightly the Department for Education has focused on how we can ensure that our children do not become the covid generation. We have worked very hard over the years to support and broaden access to careers in STEM to disadvantaged groups. The Minister for School Standards has rightly worked hard to increase uptake in STEM subjects at A-level for women. Science and discovery centres are a key part of our educational offering, enriching the school experience and inspiring people to consider the opportunities of a career in science.

I have spoken many times about the pandemic being a pandemic of inequality, as it has accentuated existing health inequalities; those who were already worse off in our society are being hit the hardest and sadly, that is also the case in education. I regularly hear from teachers in my constituency their worries about the differential impact on children, and that those who are already disadvantaged will have the inequalities they experience entrenched.

That situation also affects the enrichment offered by science and discovery centres. With school trips called off and centres closed, teachers have to make careful financial decisions, given the costs of education during the pandemic. Of course those pressures will be highest in deprived areas, where the need for educational enrichment is greatest and where visiting a science and discovery centre could be the spark of wonder that leads someone on to a different path towards a career in science, technology, engineering and maths.

Science and discovery centres have benefited from the main headline financial support schemes, such as furlough, but many of them have missed out on sector-specific support as a result of not being seen as cultural institutions. Consequently, they are really struggling. They need to open their doors again to all of us, but in particular to schoolchildren.

I ask the Minister, who I know is passionate about ensuring equality of opportunity for all and the role of education in achieving that aim, to ensure that in a world of competing pressures the vital work that science and discovery centres do is supported within our plans for the recovery of education.

This debate is very personal to me. As a young boy growing up, I was inspired by the wonder of science by my parents. This was nurtured and reinforced by the trips I took to science museums and nature reserves, many of which would now be seen as science and discovery centres. I try to pass on the wonder of science to my own children, be it through watching tadpoles turn into frogs or seeing dinosaurs and space rockets at the science and discovery centres.

The debate today is a celebration of the amazing work of our science and discovery centres, and all those who inspire a love of science across our communities. It is also a plea to ensure that the current generation of school children do not miss out on these amazing opportunities to discover and explore the possibilities that science offers, to pursue careers in STEM subjects and to be the ones to lead future innovation and provide hope and inspiration for future generations. Every child needs the opportunity to discover science. We cannot let the pandemic extinguish science’s spark of wonder for our next generation.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Spencer]

I thank the Minister for her speech and, in particular, for reaffirming the importance of science and discovery centres, and for the points that she will take forward. I would very much like to take her up on the offer of the meeting that she agreed to convene.

As an aside, I noted the comment of the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington (Matt Western) about the separation of arts and science. Personally, however, I see that as a false dichotomy—what is Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” without the invention of a piano; and what is rock and roll without the pickup and the amplifier? For so long, we have differentiated and created artificial divisions, but at their core, arts and science are one and key to us as human beings and to our society.

I thank Members for their fantastic contributions to the debate. What came out for me and, I suspect, for the people watching at home who work in the science and discovery centres and who inspire and teach children about science and discovery, was the personal stories that so many Members brought out—bringing their children to science and discovery centres. Hearing about the National Railway Museum, it is difficult not to conjure up images of steam trains, with the smells and seeing the pistons, thinking back over the changing industrial age. Science is such a personal experience, and what makes science and discovery centres—what makes them special—is not just the machines, the ants, the space rockets or all the different bits of tech or kit to be seen when there, but the people. It is about the volunteers and staff who work in the centres, who are passionate about science, teaching, learning and innovation —as passionate, or more passionate, as the Members who took part in the debate, who talked with such love about their science and discovery centres and about the role of science in our society going forward.

The centres are so important to all of us, to our future and to our future workforce. They need to be open, and they need the financial support and backing to stay open. My hon. Friend the Member for Winchester (Steve Brine) made such a strong point—the centres should not just be open; we have to ensure that kids get back into them, and as soon as possible. Particularly over the next few months, that will be such a challenge—inspiring the confidence and getting back into the centres, back learning and having the great experience and opportunities that they offer.

In wrapping up, I again thank Members for taking part in this important debate. In particular, I thank everyone who works in science and discovery centres and everyone who inspires our next generation about science.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered the Science and Discovery Centres’ support for education in science and careers in STEM subjects.