Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education Settings

Debate between Daisy Cooper and Gavin Williamson

Wednesday 30th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

I absolutely agree. My hon. Friend will probably have seen the figures: more than 50 million tests have already been conducted across schools and colleges. We are very much aware that testing has been an important part of getting schools reopened, and we continue to work with colleagues in the Department for Health and Social Care and in track and trace to ensure that testing is available to all pupils and their families.

[Daisy Cooper (St Albans) (LD) [V]]

The number of children missing school is rising every single day and families are at their wits’ end, while the Government are once again far too slow to react. Will the Government act now and establish a rapid taskforce with public health directors and school leaders, with a mandate to keep schools open safely?

[Gavin Williamson]

It is fair to say that Liberal Democrats have never been very good at numbers. Actually, schools are open right across the country—they are welcoming children. Millions of children are in school, benefiting from being with their teachers, and we continue to take action to ensure we do everything we can to maximise the number of children there. As part of step 4, as I touched on earlier, we will be looking at lifting more restrictions; that will be announced in the near future.

Education Recovery

Debate between Daisy Cooper and Gavin Williamson

Monday 7th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

My right hon. Friend absolutely hit the nail on the head; the children who benefited most were those in schools that kept a clear focus on supporting children with a strong and rich knowledge-based curriculum. That has very much been based on the reforms that have been rolled out by this Government over the last 11 years. There are sometimes siren calls to reduce the standards and quality of our curriculum and what is taught, but that most disadvantages children from the most disadvantaged areas. I reassure my right hon. Friend that every action we take will be about reinforcing the evidence as to what actually works and how we can benefit children, including through tutoring, driving up teacher quality and ensuring that teachers have the right materials, support and training to deliver the very best for their children.

[Daisy Cooper (St Albans) (LD) [V]]

Sir Kevan Collins has a distinguished 30-year career as an expert in education, while the Secretary of State has spent 18 months presiding over nothing but blunders, putting the future of our young people at risk. Does the Secretary of State think that the right man resigned?

[Gavin Williamson]

The hon. Lady sort of points out that we are very grateful for the work that Sir Kevan has done. Some of the key elements have been done working side by side with him—for example, the tutoring and the driving up of teacher quality and standards, which are very much at the heart of this package. As we look to the future and the comprehensive spending review, we are very much looking at how we can drive that third element—the element of time in the school day—and best use it to give children from all backgrounds the best advantage.

Skills for Jobs White Paper

Debate between Daisy Cooper and Gavin Williamson

Thursday 21st January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

My hon. Friend is so right, and many young people in her constituency will be looking for the opportunity to unlock their true potential. That will not always be through a university degree; so often, it is through our amazing further education colleges, which deliver for their communities. Making this investment and these reforms will enable them to go from strength to strength, while being absolutely rooted in the needs of the local economy. Let us make sure that we are training our young people with the skills that they need in order to get the jobs that are out there, as against skills that lead to no jobs.

[Daisy Cooper (St Albans) (LD) [V]]

The rapidly changing workplace makes it vital that people can acquire new skills throughout their lifetime. However, we know that mature students are more averse to taking on debt, and they are often unable to take on long-term repayments if those repayments take them up to retirement. Instead of introducing a lifetime loan entitlement, will the Secretary of State look at introducing a lifetime grant, similar to the Liberal Democrat idea of a skills wallet, which would give every person up to £10,000 to spend on education and training throughout their lifetime?

[Gavin Williamson]

The hon. Lady will see that this is an expansive package of support for people who want to get training and skills, which is very much designed and fit for the modern economy and responsive enough to shift with changing labour market needs.

Covid-19: Educational Settings

Debate between Daisy Cooper and Gavin Williamson

Wednesday 6th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

As my hon. Friend will have heard in my statement, that is exactly what I have said we would do. For clarity, there are many colleges that know for their students’ future prospects they need to complete assessments this month if those students are to be able access work and employment opportunities. So no, I am not going to go down the route that my hon. Friend suggested of taking that opportunity potentially to access work and other opportunities away from them, because I do not believe that that would be right for those children.

[Daisy Cooper (St Albans) (LD) [V]]

Teachers and school staff have put themselves at enormous risk during the pandemic to keep schools open. Now that the Prime Minister has accepted that schools are the epicentre of high community covid transmission, it is essential that the Government give teachers and school staff the priority access to covid vaccination that they deserve. Will the Secretary of State look at adding them to category 7, as that would make teachers and school staff a top priority for vaccinations after those who are 65 and over, all those who are clinically vulnerable, and our NHS and social care staff?

[Gavin Williamson]

At every stage, we have put the safety of students, pupils, teachers and the whole workforce—and including the whole community—at the heart of everything we have done. All the evidence shows that the work, the precautions and the measures that have been put in place mean that schools have been able to operate safely and well. We will constantly work with the whole sector to ensure that every measure is undertaken so that that continues. That is why we are ready to roll out a mass testing programme, delivering millions of tests right across the board. That will happen in schools as they welcome the children of critical workers as well as vulnerable children into them. When schools fully return and can welcome all children back, the testing regime will be at the centre of that return.

Education: Return in January

Debate between Daisy Cooper and Gavin Williamson

Wednesday 30th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

I often agree with my hon. Friend, and I do not disagree with him on this occasion. Obviously, we have to prioritise decisions on vaccinations, taking into account a whole raft of areas. The key thing is prioritising those people who are most clinically vulnerable, but as we get through that stage of clinical need, I certainly hope that we can look at how we can vaccinate those who are in the teaching profession and who support education.

[Daisy Cooper (St Albans) (LD) [V]]

We are in a race against time to stop a new catastrophe of educational inequality. Some children have lost more than six months of learning and some schools still cannot access the covid workforce budget because of absurd criteria. It is shocking that only half of digital devices have been delivered and that mass testing is being rolled out only four months after school has returned. When will the Secretary of State give schools the rota powers, the funding, the devices and the trust that they need and deserve to stay open safely?

[Gavin Williamson]

We had announced the additional £78 million of funding just before the Christmas period in order to help and assist in the roll-out of a mass testing regime in all secondary schools. We announced the distribution of an extra half a million devices on the half a million that had already been distributed just the other week. If the hon. Lady had listened to my statement, she would have heard that we are planning to distribute 50,000 on 4 January and another 100,000 over the following week. I am sure that, at some point, she will look at my statement in detail and pay attention to it.

Exams and Accountability 2021

Debate between Daisy Cooper and Gavin Williamson

Thursday 3rd December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

My right hon. Friend is right that there is not an easy pathway, which I think the hon. Member for Stretford and Urmston (Kate Green) also recognises. Any route taken presents quite significant challenges in delivering assessments and examinations, but I believe that this is the fairest and most robust way of doing it. We have removed SATs from performance tables. That is an important measure, but SATs do present a really important way of measuring a child’s attainment and position, and they will be vital for schools in making that assessment and supporting children to catch up on lost learning. We hope that removing them from performance tables will remove a lot of the pressure that teachers sometimes feel and help with the delivery of SATs.

[Daisy Cooper (St Albans) (LD) [V]]

Securing fairness for all students will be absolutely key, so while I welcome some of the measures that have been announced today that go in the right direction, I am worried that the creation of an expert group is simply kicking the fairness can down the road. Given the huge variations in learning between individuals, schools and local education authorities, when, specifically, will the expert group report on its proposals, and when will the House be able to scrutinise them?

[Gavin Williamson]

The whole set of measures that we have put in place, whether in extra learning time, changes to assessment, advance notice or giving exam aids, is to support children who have suffered from lost learning. The expert group, which will report to me in the spring, will make a proper and thorough assessment of some of the challenges that students have faced.

Lifetime Skills Guarantee and Post-16 Education

Debate between Daisy Cooper and Gavin Williamson

Thursday 1st October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

We are looking at how to increase flexibility. I would be happy to organise a meeting between my hon. Friend and the Minister for skills, my hon. Friend the Member for Chichester, to discuss his thoughts about how to unlock more employment in Gloucester.

[Daisy Cooper (St Albans) (LD)]

I welcome the ambition of the Government’s plan for skills, but we need to see a bit more detail. The Secretary of State will be familiar with the recommendations of the Independent Commission on Lifelong Learning, convened by former Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable. That commission called for the apprenticeship levy to be expanded into a skills and training levy, for a quarter of those funds to be channelled into a social mobility fund, for new national colleges to become centres of expertise, and for a skills wallet that would give everybody £10,000 to spend on education and training throughout their lives. There is a plan that exists and is ready to go. Will he meet me and members of the independent commission to discuss those very precise ideas?

[Gavin Williamson]

It is good to see that the former Member for Twickenham is keeping busy in his retirement. I am sure that my hon. Friend the skills Minister would be delighted to meet the hon. Lady and other colleagues to discuss that. As I said, I think there is a strong will on both sides of the House to make real change in this area, and with that collective will and determination, we can make a positive impact on the lives of so many people.

Students’ Return to Universities

Debate between Daisy Cooper and Gavin Williamson

Tuesday 29th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

We are very conscious that a lot of students—most students—will not want to be in university accommodation over the Christmas period. We will be setting out quite clearly how that will be avoided, so any students who do not want to be in that position will be able to be at home with their loved ones. We will make sure that all students who want to return home are able to do so.

[Daisy Cooper (St Albans) (LD)]

There are lots of very worrying reports that young people are scared, confused, isolated and vulnerable to mental ill health, so could the Secretary of State please confirm on what date specifically he knew that some universities were planning to put groups of students in quarantine and on what date specifically he first discussed asking them to put measures in place so that every student had access to mental health support?

[Gavin Williamson]

The work on mental health support started right at the start of this covid crisis. We made sure that we put in place measures to support students and to put the whole education community at the heart of what we do, recognising the importance of dealing with mental health issues. If we look back at the guidance issued on 2 July and the guidance issued on 11 September, we can see that there was always a recognition that people who tested positive for covid would need to self-isolate. Those people who have been in close contact with those who test positive—not dissimilar to what we would see in workplaces and other educational settings—would also have to isolate as a result.

Schools and Colleges: Qualification Results and Full Opening

Debate between Daisy Cooper and Gavin Williamson

Tuesday 1st September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

As part of the advice that was worked up along with the Education Endowment Foundation, one of the key recommendations was looking at how to extend the school day and at provision on weekends, in order to support children who need that little bit of extra help and have had a real impact on their educational attainment. All these measures can have an enormously positive effect. That is why we developed the £1 billion covid catch-up fund, so that schools have the ability to take such action.

[Daisy Cooper (St Albans) (LD)]

It is truly shocking that either the Government did not ask to see the A-level algorithm applied to real-world results, or they did ask to see it and did not notice that it hit pupils in disadvantaged schools the hardest. To understand what happened, will the Government publish details of the equality impact assessment that I am sure they conducted during the process that led to the original grading approach?

[Gavin Williamson]

One of the key reasons we took the decision to move to moderated grades in March was that many of the studies previously carried out showed that going to purely predicted grades was most likely to disadvantage those from the most disadvantaged communities and those from ethnic minority communities. That is what informed the approach. One of the key elements that I highlighted when I wrote to Ofqual was the need to ensure that those who are disadvantaged were not disadvantaged by any approach that was taken.