Education: Return in January

Debate between David Evennett and Gavin Williamson

Wednesday 30th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

The hon. Gentleman is right to point out that the best place for children to learn is in school, which is why we have at every stage driven as hard as possible to ensure that schools are open and remain open. That is why we are taking the actions we are—whether that is the mass testing regime or the fact that primary schools will open up on 4 January—because we realise that the best place for children to be is in school. We looked at the needs of schools for additional laptops and digital equipment and have expanded the original provision of 200,000 laptops to more than 1 million. As I touched on earlier, that distribution of additional laptops is currently ongoing and will continue over the coming weeks.

[Sir David Evennett (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Con) [V]]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s flexibility and pragmatic approach at this difficult time, and also his determination to keep schools open. I praise all the teachers in my borough of Bexley for their commitment and hard work. However, as a strong supporter of social mobility, I am naturally concerned about the effect on the education of our most disadvantaged children during this coronavirus pandemic. Can he confirm that the additional financial support he has given will help to prevent them from being left behind in their education?

[Gavin Williamson]

I thank my right hon. Friend for highlighting something that he and I care so passionately about: ensuring that children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds are not left behind. That is why the national tutoring programme and the covid catch-up fund are so vital, not only for his constituents but for my constituents and all our constituents from those most disadvantaged communities. We recognise that this pandemic has impacted every community up and down the country. It is vital that we do everything we can to get them back on their feet, learning and closing that gap once more.

Exams and Accountability 2021

Debate between David Evennett and Gavin Williamson

Thursday 3rd December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

All the measures that we have undertaken have been aimed at supporting those children who have been most affected, but we have to understand that every child in this country has been affected by this pandemic, which is why we also need a national approach to support all children. We have created a system that supports those children who have suffered the most and makes sure that they are in the best position to focus their studies and their time on the areas that will deliver them the best results in terms of grading in August.

[Sir David Evennett (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Con) [V]]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s announcement of a package of measures to ensure fairness in next summer’s exams despite the many challenges. Can he assure me that, if the disruption caused by the pandemic continues into next year, the situation will be monitored and assessed and, if necessary, further measures will be introduced?

[Gavin Williamson]

We are absolutely certain that we can deliver a full exam series. Quite simply that is because, over the past number of weeks, we have delivered a full exam series for GCSEs and A-levels in which tens of thousands of students have taken part and they have gone safely and have been successful, so we are absolutely confident about being able to deliver that exam series in the summer of next year. My right hon. Friend highlights the issue of lost learning and differential learning, which is why we have set up the expert group to be able to advise us should we need to take any other interventions to ensure that students are in the best possible position to be able to progress to college, to university, into an apprenticeship or into the world of work.

Students’ Return to Universities

Debate between David Evennett and Gavin Williamson

Tuesday 29th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

I very much hope that the hon. Member’s son is enjoying his time at university and the opportunities that it will open up. We have always been clear that, if youngsters contract covid, they will have to self-isolate. We have also been clear that, where students have been in close contact with people who have covid, they will also have to self-isolate. Those are the rules that we expect everyone right across the country to abide by, so it is right that we also expect that of students. What he would see, if he had taken the time to read the guidance that we issued both on 2 July and the 11 September and the additional work and support made available to universities, is that we recognised that there were going to be challenges as a result of this. That is why we have worked with the university sector and asked it to reduce the risk as much as possible, so that young people are able to have the benefits of university and their learning is not impacted by covid—or the impact is minimised.

[Sir David Evennett (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Con) [V]]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. Education is essential for opportunity and social mobility. The role of further education colleges is absolutely vital, as I am sure he will endorse. Does he agree that it is right to prioritise education by keeping schools, colleges and universities open, and that we cannot ask young people put their lives on hold for months?

[Gavin Williamson]

As someone who has worked in the FE sector and feels so passionately about it and about the opportunities that not just further education but higher education and all schools provide all our youngsters, my right hon. Friend is absolutely right to advocate the importance of opening not just our universities but our schools and colleges at the earliest opportunity. Let us not forget that when we suggested opening schools on 1 June, the Labour party opposed that. When we issued guidance on 2 July to see the full opening of all schools in September, the Labour party opposed that. The Labour party does not come forward with positive suggestions; it just tries to politicise a global pandemic, in the words of the hon. Member for Stretford and Urmston (Kate Green).

Education Settings: Autumn Opening

Debate between David Evennett and Gavin Williamson

Thursday 2nd July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

That review did have a very thoughtful author, and we will certainly move forward on that. Our guidance does recognise some of the real challenges that many children will face as they come back into school as they will not have had the same structures of behaviour and discipline built around them. It is vital that we re-establish proper behaviour and discipline practices for all children, and I know schools are working closely on how they build that around those children, but we must understand that where there are good behaviour and discipline policies, there are vastly reduced numbers of those children excluded from schools. We will work with schools to deliver that. I pay tribute to Tom Bennett and the behaviour hubs for the work they do to establish strong behaviour practices in some of the most challenging schools.

[Sir David Evennett (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Con) [V]]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement on the autumn opening of education settings. Going to university is an important milestone for many of our young people, but there are real worries about starting or restarting courses this autumn. What measures is he taking and what reassurance can he give to those students?

[Gavin Williamson]

I reassure both my right hon. Friend and students who are looking forward to the prospect of going to university in the next academic year about the importance we place on not just the educational offer of universities but the whole experience of going to university. We are working closely with Universities UK and the whole sector to ensure that we have a full and wide, proper opening of all universities so that they can welcome students through their gates. We are seeing a positive increase in the number of young people applying to go to university, and we will work with the sector to deliver on that. As a point of note, revised guidance for the HE sector will be issued later today.

Education Settings: Wider Opening

Debate between David Evennett and Gavin Williamson

Tuesday 9th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

We always have and will continue to have regular meetings with them to share our most up-to-date plans.

[Sir David Evennett (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Con) [V]]

I appreciate that health and safety issues are paramount when deciding to reopen primary schools to all children and I welcome the flexibility in my right hon. Friend’s statement today. However, I share concerns about the serious impact that the lack of schooling will have on many disadvantaged children from poor households. I welcome his commitment that they will be a top priority. Will he reaffirm that for me?

[Gavin Williamson]

I absolutely reaffirm that to my right hon. Friend, and the importance of ensuring that pupils are back in full-time schooling at the earliest possible moment. We will continue to work with schools to bring more children back into that formal education environment as swiftly as we possibly can.