Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions, as announced in the Autumn Budget 2024, on the ability of school meals providers to provide those meals within the existing fixed price cost of £2.53.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government will provide funding to the public sector to support them with the additional costs associated with changes to Employers National Insurance Contributions policy.
This funding will be additional to the £2.3 billion increase to core school budgets announced at the Autumn Budget 2024. Due to timing constraints, this compensation will need to be provided as a separate grant, alongside the national funding formula (NFF), in 2025/26. Schools will continue to have autonomy over their spending and will be able to use any future grant funding to cover all cost increases, including food costs.
The department currently allocates a meal rate of £2.53 per child per meal for the 2024/2025 academic year to support the delivery of universal infant free school meals and further education free meals. Final funding rates for the 2024/2025 academic year will be confirmed in due course. Further to this, we fund benefits-related free school meals (FSM) at £490 per eligible pupil annually through the FSM factor of the NFF for schools. In total, we spend £1.5 billion across these programmes.
This funding is intended to cover the broad costs of meal provision. However, schools have considerable autonomy over delivery of FSM, including entering into contracts with suppliers and allocation of funding within their budgets.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to reject the application by Reach South Academy Trust to close Parkfield School.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, will not make it her policy to reject the application by Reach South Academy Trust to close Parkfield School.
Upon reviewing officials’ advice around this school closing, the department agrees that closing the school is in the best interests of children and young people and their education in this case.
Parkfield School will be closing by mutual agreement with the Academy trust.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure equal treatment of (a) internal and (b) external A Level candidates sitting exams at further education colleges (i) in general and (ii) in the marking of coursework.
Answered by Luke Hall
All exam centres, including further education colleges, are required to treat all candidates equally, including private candidates, throughout the examination process. This includes offering all aspects of non-exam assessment (NEA) for that qualification, if required. The marking of NEA would also be the same for all students.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the oral contribution in response to the question from the hon. Member for Ipswich of 6 December 2023, Official Report, column 373, when she plans to publish guidance on gender-questioning children.
Answered by Damian Hinds
On 19 December 2023, the government published draft guidance for schools and colleges in England on gender questioning children. The consultation will remain open until 12 March 2024.
The draft guidance and the consultation document can be found here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/equalities-political-impartiality-anti-bullying-team/gender-questioning-children-proposed-guidance/.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to provide funding for the new classroom block at Highcliffe School; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In December 2022, the Department announced the provisional selection of 239 more schools for the School Rebuilding Programme, including Highcliffe School.
These schools have now been prioritised to enter delivery at a rate of approximately 50 schools per year, according to the condition need of their buildings.
Highcliffe School has been initially scheduled for Group 2. Schools in this group are expected to enter delivery from April 2025. Where possible, the Department will bring projects forward if it is able to do so.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish his Department's review of Brighton and Hove Council's Anti-Racist Education Strategy; and if he will make an assessment of whether Brighton and Hove Council is fully compliant with his Department's guidelines on political impartiality in schools.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department has worked with the sector to publish guidance that supports schools to teach about complex political issues, in line with their legal duties on political impartiality. This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools.
On being made aware of the issues raised in respect of Brighton and Hove City Council’s strategy, department officials contacted the local authority to understand the detail of the matter and to ensure that the local authority was aware of their duties on political impartiality. It is for local authorities to ensure that they meet their legal requirements in respect of political impartiality in schools and to respond to complaints. The department would not normally intervene in a complaint about a local authority unless the local complaints process had been followed to conclusion. The department has not carried out a review of the strategy and is not planning to do so at this stage.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will amend his Department's guidance in relation to childminders and covid-19 so that childminders can operate in circumstances where someone in their household has tested positive for, or has symptoms of, covid-19; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
Keeping children and staff safe is the government’s priority. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the department has listened carefully to the latest scientific and medical advice when developing guidance.
On 24 February 2022, the government removed the legal requirement for people with COVID-19 to self-isolate. However, if anyone has any of the main symptoms or a positive test result, the public health advice remains unchanged and is to stay at home and avoid contact with other people. The ‘COVID-19: people with COVID-19 and their contacts’ guidance also advises that people with symptoms of COVID-19 or a positive test result should not have social visitors to the home. This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-people-with-covid-19-and-their-contacts/covid-19-people-with-covid-19-and-their-contacts.
In light of the changes to the legal requirement to self-isolate, the department has reviewed and updated the guidance for childminders with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and it can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/additional-actions-for-childminders-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic/additional-actions-for-childminders-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic.
The guidance continues to be that childminders should not childmind in their home when someone living there has tested positive or has symptoms of COVID-19. This is because there is a higher risk of transmission to those attending the provision for childcare as they are in close proximity to the case and for extended periods of time.
In the guidance, the department has also outlined the options for childminders to continue childminding if there is someone who has tested positive or has symptoms of COVID-19 in their home.
The department will continue to work with the UKHSA to keep its guidance under review and make sure that the right control measures are in place for childminders.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding his Department is providing for music education hubs in England in the 2021-22 financial year; and what discussions his Department has had with the Arts Council on the administration of the grants which will be paid; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Music Education Hubs have a vital role to play not only in core school music but also ensuring children have access to all the benefits of a wider musical education through instrumental lessons and ensembles. They have acted swiftly and innovatively to support schools through the COVID-19 outbreak, including the continuation of continuing professional development to classroom teachers.
Following the one-year Spending Review settlement, the Department will continue to fund Music Education Hubs for the financial year 2021-22. Funding has been confirmed with Arts Council England, our delivery partner for this area of work, and they have already confirmed this with Music Education Hubs organisations. An announcement on the national funding will be made shortly, followed by further details on specific funding allocations issued to individual hubs.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason the latest guidance for schools and colleges about face coverings does not address the issues about which the Secretary of State was in correspondence with the National Deaf Children's Society in October 2020; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department’s guidance on face coverings can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-in-education/face-coverings-in-education.
As the guidance outlines, during national lockdown, in schools where Year 7 and above are educated, face coverings should be worn by adults, such as staff and visitors, pupils, and students. Face coverings should be worn when moving around indoors, outside of classrooms, such as in corridors, and in communal areas where social distancing is difficult to maintain.
Based on current evidence and the measures that schools are already putting in place, such as the system of controls and consistent bubbles, face coverings will not generally be necessary in the classroom.
Children in primary schools do not need to wear a face covering.
Some individuals are exempt from wearing face coverings. This includes people who cannot put on, wear, or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness, impairment, or disability, or if you are speaking to or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expressions to communicate. The same legal exemptions that apply to the wearing of face coverings in shops and on public transport also apply in schools.
Face coverings can make it more difficult to communicate with pupils and students with additional needs or those who may rely on lip reading or facial expressions for understanding. We expect staff to be sensitive to these needs when teaching and interacting with pupils and students.
The Department continues to provide information to the sector on our guidance, and any changes to it, through regular departmental communications. The Department will also continue to work with Public Health England, as well as stakeholders across the sector, to monitor the latest scientific and medical advice and to understand the impact of the system of controls on staff, pupils and parents.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the priorities he has announced on re-opening schools during the covid-19 outbreak apply where there is a three tier education structure which includes middle schools; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
From the week commencing 1 June, at the earliest, we will be asking primary schools to welcome back children in nursery, Reception, year 1 and year 6, alongside priority groups. We will only do this provided that the five key tests set by Government justify the changes at the time.
We want to get all children and young people back into education as soon as the scientific advice allows because it is the best place for them to learn, and because we know how important it is for their mental wellbeing to have social interactions with their peers, carers and teachers. The safety of children and staff is our utmost priority.
Guidance for schools and childcare settings to prepare for wider opening from 1 June 2020 can be found here:
The three year groups within mainstream primary have been prioritised because they are key transition years. Year 6 children are finishing Key Stage 2 and preparing for the transition to secondary school, in many cases, and the secondary curriculum and will benefit immensely from time with their friends and teachers to ensure they are ready. We expect all mainstream schools to follow the same approach, including middle schools.