Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made of the potential merits of including sensory food play as part of the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework (EYFS) sets the standards that all early years providers must meet for the learning, development and care of children from birth to age five.
Currently, there are no plans to add any mandatory requirements regarding sensory food education into the EYFS.
The department has published an article promoting sensory food education. This supports childminders, nursery leaders and pre-school practitioners to look at incorporating sensory food education into their practice, while delivering the statutory EYFS requirements. The sensory food education article can be found here: https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk/get-help-to-improve-your-practice/sensory-food-education.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support is provided to birth parents going through the adoption process.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005 set out what support adoption agencies must offer birth parents. This includes counselling and information about the implications of adoption and an assessment of birth parents’ support needs, if they request this. Agencies must also discuss future contact so that this can be considered by the court on any application for a placement or adoption order, and must also ask about birth parents’ wishes regarding the religion and culture of their child should the child go to live with adopters.
Regional Adoption Agency leaders have recently set up a Birth Parent Reference Group, which meets regularly to ensure that the voices of birth families are being heard and considered in the development of adoption services nationally.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) improve and (b) increase primary school education for children on careers in electronics and engineering.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Careers provision is embedded in the key stage 2 citizenship curriculum, which requires that pupils be taught about a range of possible careers, including careers in electronics and engineering.
The department announced in the Schools White Paper: Opportunity for All, a new programme for careers provision in primary schools. The programme will run from winter 2022 until March 2025 and will target primary schools in areas of disadvantage. We have allocated £2.6 million to fund this programme.
The programme will seek to inspire pupils about the world of work, drawing on positive role models from a range of industries and sectors to help raise aspirations, challenge stereotypes, and help children link their learning to future jobs and careers. Activities funded will align with the most relevant aspects of the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance for the primary age group. The eight Gatsby Benchmarks serve as a framework for improvement in careers provision for secondary schools and colleges.
The programme will include activities aligned with, for example, Gatsby Benchmark 4 regarding linking curriculum learning to careers to ensure that children have the chance to explore how literacy, numeracy, digital skills, and science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects can help them develop the skills they will need for their future careers.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of students studying electronics and engineering at (a) further and (b) higher education in order to develop the skills required to meet vacancies in UK companies involved with chip design.
Answered by Andrea Jenkyns
The department is investing £3.8 billion more in further education and skills over the course of this Parliament to ensure people can access high-quality training and education that addresses skills gaps and boosts productivity, to ensure that industries such as engineering and electronics get people with the skills that they need.
Through this investment, we are creating a wide range of different opportunities for people to acquire in-demand skills. In particular, we have made key reforms to technical education to encourage people to take up technical routes, which could lead to them entering careers in engineering and electronics.
Our high-quality apprenticeships continue to provide young people with the opportunity to earn and learn the skills needed for a career in the engineering and manufacturing sector.Employers can choose from over 147 employer-designed apprenticeships in the sector, and we are raising awareness of apprenticeships among young people through our ‘Get the Jump’ campaign.
T Levels are also strengthening vocational options for young people finishing their GCSEs. They are two-year, technical qualifications designed with businesses and employers, equivalent in size to three A levels and with 20% of the course time in an industry placement. Three T Levels in Engineering and Manufacturing and three T levels in Digital sectors are now available.
The Free Courses for Jobs offer, which was launched in April 2021, allows eligible adults to access over 400 Level 3 qualifications (A-level equivalent) for free, in subject areas including engineering and digital.
We are establishing 21 Institutes of Technology (IoTs) across the country, providing access to industry standard facilities which focus on the needs of employers and learners in their specific geographical areas. IoTs are partnerships between further education providers, universities (HE) and employers, with employers at the heart of decision-making, curriculum development and delivery. IoTs aim to help close skills gaps in key STEM areas, including digital, construction, engineering and manufacturing, and life sciences.
Through the Strategic Priorities Grant, the department supplies funding to support HE providers’ ongoing teaching and other related activities. Over half of this funding is directed towards the provision of high-cost subjects, including engineering and technology subjects.
We are investing an additional £750 million over the next three years to support high quality teaching and facilities including in engineering. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the HE sector to support students and teaching in over a decade.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, shat assessment has his department made on the impact of Oak National Academy becoming a public body on (a) teacher autonomy and (b) educational resource innovation.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Converting Oak National Academy to an arm’s length body will have significant benefits for teachers, providing optional support which evidence suggests can reduce their workload and increase their curriculum expertise. As part of an evaluation carried out by ImpactEd, published at: https://thenational.academy, it was found that Oak National Academy made a significant contribution to decreasing teacher workload. Oak National Academy improved the workload for 42% of users, on average by 3 hours per week. The evaluation also found that 50% of teachers surveyed increased their confidence in curriculum design.
As an integral part of the process to set up Oak National Academy as an arm’s length body, the department also produced a business case which included an assessment of the benefits for teachers, as well as potential market impact. This business case will be published shortly. Monitoring market impact will be a priority throughout Oak National Academy’s lifetime and will be factored into the body’s ongoing evaluation and two-year review.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact that the cost of living crisis on the number of children entering care in the North East.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The department monitors the situation of the rising cost of living whilst working with other government departments on support surrounding this issue. We maintain regular contact and work closely with local authorities in the North East to recognise and understand the children in care numbers.
The department’s sector-led improvement programme continues to support long-term improvement in children’s social care, with 68 local authorities having already received support, including five in the North East.
As local authorities grapple with competing priorities, including any impact of the cost of living on families and services, the department will continue to focus on helping keep children safe.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the proportion of students in the North East achieving grades 7 and above at GCSE in line with national averages.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The department remains committed to addressing regional disparities and levelling up education standards. The Schools White Paper, published in March 2022, set out a vision for a school system that helps every child fulfil their potential regardless of where they live.
The north-east and Yorkshire and Humber regions had the joint lowest proportion of entries at grade 7 and above (both 22.4%) in England. By comparison, London (32.6%) and the south-east (29.2%) have had the highest proportion of entries achieving grade 7 and above in England in 2022, which is a historic trend that has continued this year. However, between the north-east and all other regions excluding London and the south-east, there was only a small difference.
There are many issues that contribute to worse outcomes at key stage 4 in the north-east, such as disadvantage and school quality. The department has worked extensively to drive improvement in the north-east and will continue to do so. Opportunity North East (ONE) was a three-year programme from 2019 to 2022 that invested £12 million to improve secondary outcomes in the region. As a result of this investment, there are now more Good Ofsted rated secondary schools in the region. Across the north-east, the proportion of Good and Outstanding secondary schools has increased from 58% in 2018 to 71% this year.
The department is building on this success through further support in its Education Investment Areas (EIAs). 6 of the 12 local authorities in the north-east are EIAs: Darlington, Durham, South Tyneside and Sunderland, with Middlesbrough and Hartlepool also being Priority EIAs eligible for additional investment.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of comparative trends in the level of GCSE marks between the North East and other areas of the UK.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The department remains committed to addressing regional disparities and levelling up education standards. The Schools White Paper, published in March 2022, set out a vision for a school system that helps every child fulfil their potential regardless of where they live.
The north-east and Yorkshire and Humber regions had the joint lowest proportion of entries at grade 7 and above (both 22.4%) in England. By comparison, London (32.6%) and the south-east (29.2%) have had the highest proportion of entries achieving grade 7 and above in England in 2022, which is a historic trend that has continued this year. However, between the north-east and all other regions excluding London and the south-east, there was only a small difference.
There are many issues that contribute to worse outcomes at key stage 4 in the north-east, such as disadvantage and school quality. The department has worked extensively to drive improvement in the north-east and will continue to do so. Opportunity North East (ONE) was a three-year programme from 2019 to 2022 that invested £12 million to improve secondary outcomes in the region. As a result of this investment, there are now more Good Ofsted rated secondary schools in the region. Across the north-east, the proportion of Good and Outstanding secondary schools has increased from 58% in 2018 to 71% this year.
The department is building on this success through further support in its Education Investment Areas (EIAs). 6 of the 12 local authorities in the north-east are EIAs: Darlington, Durham, South Tyneside and Sunderland, with Middlesbrough and Hartlepool also being Priority EIAs eligible for additional investment.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students in (a) the North East and (b) total were accepted into UK universities using T Levels in 2022.
Answered by Andrea Jenkyns
The number of T Level students that were accepted into university on results day was 370, which was 71% of applicants. This number is likely to increase as students are placed into a university course through the clearing process, and UCAS plan to publish an updated statistic in due course.
Information on university places is held by UCAS, and therefore we are unable to provide information on T Level students entering university at a regional level.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to (a) review and (b) improve T Level quality following the first cohort of students’ and teachers' feedback.
Answered by Andrea Jenkyns
The first cohort of students completed their T Levels in summer 2022 and achieved an overall pass rate of 92.2%. As further T Levels are made available, the department is monitoring their performance to ensure that they are meeting their intended purpose. This includes working closely with Ofqual, the Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education and with awarding organisations to ensure that the qualifications are functioning as intended and to develop mitigations where they are not. We also engage regularly with the schools and colleges delivering T Levels, and with Association of Colleges, to gather their feedback and concerns. Our regular survey of T Level students is designed to build a picture of their experiences that we can factor these into the ongoing roll-out of T Levels. We will update our survey report as new findings are gathered.