Oral Answers to Questions

Catherine McKinnell Excerpts

Monday 9th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Markus Campbell-Savours (Penrith and Solway) (Lab)]

17. What steps she is taking to recruit more teachers.

[The Minister for School Standards (Catherine McKinnell)]

As a first step in our mission to break down barriers to opportunity, we will recruit 6,500 additional teachers. We have kickstarted the recruitment campaigns, and made a 5.5% pay award, resetting the relationship with the education workforce. We will re-establish teaching as an attractive expert profession after years of damage under the previous Government.

[Douglas McAllister]

This Government have promised change in education, and made a commitment to raising school standards and increasing teacher numbers after 14 years of Tory neglect. The Scottish National party’s 17 years in power have led to falling standards, under-resourced schools and a growing attainment gap between the richest and the rest. Does the Minister agree that it is time for change, given the Scottish National party’s dismal record on education in Scotland?

[Catherine McKinnell]

Breaking down barriers to opportunity is a key mission for this Government and the Scottish Labour party. The SNP has seen attainment gaps widen and child poverty soar, but we will transform our education system so that all young people get the opportunities that they deserve, by driving high and rising standards across our education system. That is the change that this Labour Government will deliver.

[Markus Campbell-Savours]

Many teachers in my constituency welcome the drive to recruit more teachers, but they also want the Government to recognise the pressures on those already in the profession. What steps will the Department take to improve teacher retention in constituencies such as Penrith and Solway?

[Catherine McKinnell]

I want teachers to not only remain in the profession, but to thrive in it. That is why we are listening and acting on feedback. The Department, alongside school leaders, has developed a workload reduction toolkit and the education staff wellbeing charter. We will deliver a range of measures to make teaching a better valued and respected profession.

[Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)]

I recently visited Herefordshire, Ludlow and North Shropshire college, which provides excellent further education opportunities for students in my constituency. However, there is not parity of funding for teachers in the FE sector and those in the schools sector, meaning that post-16 education is now better funded for those pursuing academic courses than for those pursuing vocational courses. Will the Secretary of State roll out the 5.5% pay rise to teachers in the FE sector also, so that there is no increase in inequality between academic and vocational opportunities?

[Catherine McKinnell]

We accepted the School Teachers Review Body’s recommendation of a 5.5% award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools in England from September. It is a substantial award that recognises the hard work of those in our teaching profession. We recognise the challenges in the FE sector also and the issues that the hon. Lady outlines. We will continue to keep the matter under review, because we want to ensure that every child has the best opportunities, whether that is in our school system or in our FE sector.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

The new Government’s focus on the serious recruitment and retention crisis is welcome. However, as we have heard, the recent pay announcement overlooked teachers who work in colleges, who already face a pay gap of more than £9,000. We have twice the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds in our colleges as in school sixth forms, so the recruitment issue is even more pressing in our colleges. Why is it that teachers of 16-year-olds in schools deserve a pay rise, but teachers of 16-year-olds in colleges do not?

[Catherine McKinnell]

We recognise the challenges that the hon. Lady sets out. We are facing an incredibly challenging fiscal position. From the previous Government, we inherited a £22 billion black hole to make up. This is about the opportunities of young people in this country, and we take the issues that she outlines incredibly seriously. We will continue to do what we can within the fiscal envelope that we have, and within the system that we have inherited. That is why we honoured the recommendations of the STRB review, and we will continue to do what we can in FE.

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

14. What steps she is taking to help improve educational outcomes for (a) children in social care and (b) other care-experienced young people.

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[Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington) (Lab)]

T2. As the new school year begins, far too many students in my constituency have not yet been able to secure a school place of their choice. Does my hon. Friend agree that the schools allocation policy needs a desperate overhaul? Many people believe that it is not fit for purpose. Could she tell the House what steps the Government are taking to address this extremely important issue?

[The Minister for School Standards (Catherine McKinnell)]

We recognise the challenges that my hon. Friend raises, which is why the Government will introduce changes, so that state-funded schools can be asked to co-operate with local authorities on admissions and place planning. Local authorities have a responsibility to allocate all applicants a school place on national offer day. If children in his area are still without places, I would be happy to meet him, and to support him in resolving those issues.

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[Charlie Dewhirst (Bridlington and The Wolds) (Con)]

T3. As was alluded to by my right hon. Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart), children with special educational needs and disabilities in some urban local authorities receive three times more funding than they do in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Will the Secretary of State or her Minister meet me and East Riding colleagues, so that we can secure a fairer future for our local children?

[Catherine McKinnell]

The Secretary of State has set out extensive responses to extensive questions on the inherited challenges in the SEND system. We recognise the issues that the hon. Gentleman raised, and will be happy to meet him and his colleagues around his local authority area to discuss this further.

[Julia Buckley (Shrewsbury) (Lab)]

T6. Will the Secretary of State join me in congratulating the Shrewsbury Colleges Group in my constituency on yet another excellent round of results this summer, with A-level pass rates at over 98% and 210 vocational students achieving a triple distinction? It is a superb institution in our rural area, working to drive up engagement and standards for vocational qualifications, which are the bedrock of our industrial strategy and central to the Government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity. Will she join me in celebrating its success, and assure it that it has parity of esteem with its academic school counterparts, and will she perhaps book a visit?

[Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)]

T5. Schools in Devon are missing out on £23.5 million a year due to the national funding formula—the equivalent of 450 full-time teachers across the county. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how Devon’s school children are missing out, particularly those living in the most deprived areas?

[Catherine McKinnell]

I recognise the concerns the hon. Lady raises. The Government intend to take time to consider the various funding formulas the Department and local authorities currently use to allocate funding for schools. It is really important that we have a fair education funding system that directs funding to where it is needed, and I would be happy to meet her to discuss the particular challenges in her area.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

T7. The Steiner school in my constituency, with its nurturing and therapeutic pedagogy, is most challenged by the VAT policy, yet it enables many children who have anxiety or who would otherwise not be in education to access school. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss my report on the impact of the VAT policy and find ways to keep this school open and the children in education?

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

T9. I draw the attention of the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, as I am still a South Gloucestershire councillor. As last Thursday’s packed debate showed, children with SEND are being let down. Many local authorities are currently locked into safety valve agreements with the Department for Education, which were put into place pre-pandemic and contain unrealistic targets that no longer reflect the situation on the ground. Will the Secretary of State review those agreements, and meet me and local leaders to discuss the situation in South Gloucestershire?

[Catherine McKinnell]

The hon. Lady raises a concern that many have raised. She will have seen the level of concern at the special educational needs inheritance that this Government have taken on. Current safety valve agreements will continue to operate, as they are agreed, but we will look at their use going forward. I would be happy to meet her to discuss the particular challenges in her area.

[Uma Kumaran (Stratford and Bow) (Lab)]

T8. May I take this opportunity to welcome my right hon. Friend to her place, and to welcome students across Stratford and Bow back to school as they start their new term? The Secretary of State understands as well as I do the struggles some parents have in getting their children back to school, especially those with mental health and special educational needs. Will she outline what steps she is taking to ensure that school really is the best place for every child?

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[David Baines (St Helens North) (Lab)]

At the start of the new school year, may I wish all teachers, school staff and children in my constituency the very best for the year ahead?

Does my hon. Friend agree that, as part of the curriculum review, which I warmly welcome and look forward to, we need an education system and curriculum—particularly in primary schools—with much more focus on learning through play, on oracy, and on multisensory movement and the recording of learning? That would benefit not just children with SEND, but all pupils.

[Catherine McKinnell]

The curriculum assessment review, led by experts, will focus on the evidence—what we know from here and abroad about how we can best help children of all ages and abilities to learn, and that includes children with special educational needs. I am sure that those conducting the review will want to investigate different approaches to the primary curriculum, including those mentioned by my hon. Friend, but I would not want to pre-empt the review’s conclusions and recommendations.