Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to confirm details of future funding allocations for the primary physical education and sport premium funding.
Answered by Will Quince
Physical education remains a foundation subject which is compulsory at all four key stages of the national curriculum. As such, physical education is funded from the core schools’ budget.
The department is considering arrangements for the primary PE and sport premium for the 2022-23 academic year and beyond. We are aware of the importance of providing schools with sufficient notice of future funding and will confirm the position as early as possible in the new year.
The department is also working to deliver on the nearly £30 million announced in October towards improving and opening up school sport facilities in England, as well as to improve the teaching of PE at primary school. We will continue to work closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Department of Health and Social Care to deliver on the aims of the school sport and activity action plan which we will be updating next year.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his timeframe is for setting out a long-term funding for physical education and school sport.
Answered by Will Quince
Physical education remains a foundation subject which is compulsory at all four key stages of the national curriculum. As such, physical education is funded from the core schools’ budget.
The department is considering arrangements for the primary PE and sport premium for the 2022-23 academic year and beyond. We are aware of the importance of providing schools with sufficient notice of future funding and will confirm the position as early as possible in the new year.
The department is also working to deliver on the nearly £30 million announced in October towards improving and opening up school sport facilities in England, as well as to improve the teaching of PE at primary school. We will continue to work closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Department of Health and Social Care to deliver on the aims of the school sport and activity action plan which we will be updating next year.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeships have commenced in (a) Suffolk and (b) Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency in each year from 2009-10 to date.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Apprenticeship statistics by geography are published on the ‘Explore Education Statistics’ platform on a quarterly basis. The specific statistical publication ‘Apprenticeship starts since May 2010 and 2015 by region, local authority and parliamentary constituency’ is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships.
The attached table contains the number of apprenticeship starts for the Suffolk local authority and the Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency from May 2010 to April 2021.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will guarantee that sufficient resources will be allocated to each Local Skills Improvement Plan trailblazer pilot.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The department will make available £4 million in the 2021-22 financial year to support the development of Local Skills Improvement Plans as part of the Skills Accelerator programme. As we envisage 6 to 8 trailblazers, this funding will ensure that they have the support they need.
In addition, groups of colleges and providers in the trailblazer areas will have access to the £65 million Strategic Development Fund in order to support the changes needed to better align technical skills provision to the priority skills needs of the local area.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications for the Local Skills Improvement Plan Trailblazer pilot his Department received by the deadline of 25 May 2021; how many of those applications his Department plans to shortlist and progress; and what his timeframe is for progressing those applications.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The Department received 40 applications to lead a Local Skills Improvement Plan Trailblazer as part of the Skills Accelerator programme. It is our intention to select 6 to 8 trailblazers, and the selection process is currently ongoing. We expect to announce the outcome of the competition in July.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department plans to confirm the date from which university students in England will be able to return to campus and resume in-person teaching with appropriate covid-secure measures in place.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Following the review into when the remaining higher education students can return to in-person teaching and learning, the government has announced that the remaining students should return to in-person teaching no earlier than 17 May 2021, alongside Step 3 of the roadmap. Students and institutions will be given at least a week’s notice of any further return in accordance with the timing of Step 3 of the roadmap.
The government roadmap is designed to maintain a cautious approach to the easing of restrictions to reduce public health risks and ensure that we can maintain progress towards full reopening. However, the government recognises the difficulties and disruption that this may cause for many students and their families and that is why the government is making a further £15 million of additional student hardship funding available for this academic year 2020/21. In total we have made an additional £85 million of funding available for student hardship.
We are supporting universities to provide regular twice weekly asymptomatic testing for all students and staff on-site and, from May, at home. This will help break chains of transmission of the virus.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of funding for maintained nursery schools to ensure that these organisations can continue to provide childcare services at full capacity as the UK emerges from the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Maintained nursery schools are an important part of the early years sector and provide valuable services, especially in disadvantaged areas.
As part of the recent Spending Review, the government has confirmed a continuation of around £60m of supplementary funding for maintained nursery schools (MSN) in the financial year 2021-22. This includes £23 million of supplementary funding that the government confirmed in August will be provided to local authorities for the summer term in 2021.
The department continues to consider what is required to ensure a clear, long-term picture of funding for MNS, and will say more about this soon. This government remains committed to the long-term funding of MNS, and any reform to the way they are funded will be accompanied by appropriate funding protections.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish contingency plans for 2021 GCSE and A Level examinations to ensure that schools can be adequately prepared and take account of lost learning time.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The changes to assessments in certain subjects that were announced by Ofqual in the summer, alongside the later starting date for examinations in summer 2021, will give schools and colleges extra time to plan teaching, and pupils extra time to study. Combined with the Department’s £1 billion catch-up package, including a catch-up premium worth a total of £650 million, these changes give young people the best chance of being ready for their examinations without undermining the value of the qualifications they receive.
The Department is working with Ofqual and engaging widely with the education sector to identify any risks to examinations at a national, local, and individual pupil level, and to consider measures needed to address any potential disruption. This could be a pupil unable to sit examinations due to illness or self isolation, or schools affected by a local COVID-19 outbreak during the examination season resulting in examination centres not being able to open. More details will be published later in the autumn.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will (a) postpone Ofsted visits to schools to 2022 and (b) ensure that Ofsted focus on promoting covid-19 best practice in schools during visits during 2021.
Answered by Nick Gibb
It is important for school inspections to start up again in the new year, at the right time and in the right way. The Department is carefully considering with Ofsted and the sector how this can be achieved sensitively and gradually, with a clear focus on provision for pupils, whether in the classroom or remotely. Further details of the plans for 2021 will be made available soon.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will introduce a fully-funded national programme on emotional wellbeing and recovery in the context of covid-19 for all school-aged children.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We know that the COVID-19 outbreak has had an impact on children and young people’s wellbeing and mental health. That is why we have worked on a range of support packages to ensure support is provided for all those who need it, without diverting funding from elsewhere. It is important for schools and colleges to have the freedom to decide what support to offer pupils based on their particular needs and to draw on an evidence base of effective practice.
Our £1 billion COVID catch-up package, with £650 million shared across schools over the 2020-21 academic year, is supporting education settings to put the right catch-up and pastoral support in place. The Education Endowment Foundation has published a COVID-19 support guide to support schools to direct this funding, which includes further information about interventions to support pupils’ mental health and wellbeing: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/covid-19-resources/national-tutoring-programme/covid-19-support-guide-for-schools/.
Ofsted’s October 2020 COVID-19 briefing on its interim visits to schools confirmed that a number of school leaders are considering using this funding to pay for interventions such as additional pastoral staff and counselling for pupils. It can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-series-briefing-on-schools-october-2020.
Schools cannot provide mental health support on their own. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published a mental health and wellbeing support plan, which sets out a wide range of action that the government is supporting across the NHS and wider services to support mental health and wellbeing recovery, including for children and young people: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/staying-mentally-well-winter-plan-2020-to-2021/staying-mentally-well-this-winter.
It includes the £8 million Wellbeing for Education Return programme funded jointly by the Department for Education and DHSC. This will provide schools and colleges all over England with the knowledge and practical skills they need to support teachers, students and parents, to help improve how they respond to the emotional impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. The programme is funding expert advisers in every area of England to train and support schools and colleges during the autumn and spring terms.