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Written Question
Pupil Exclusions: Violence
Friday 28th June 2019

Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many secondary school pupils were suspended due to violence-related issues in the last two years.

Answered by Nick Gibb

The National Statistics releases ‘Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England’ includes information on the number of permanent and fixed period exclusions. The releases are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-exclusions.

In the National tables, table 4 gives exclusions by main reason. The guide to exclusion statistics gives descriptors for each reason category in section 4.4.2, and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/exclusions-statistics-guide.


Written Question
Schools: Finance
Wednesday 19th June 2019

Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to provide financial support to schools that are in deficit.

Answered by Nadhim Zahawi

The department is working with the sector to continue building capacity and expertise in financial management, particularly the prevention of a deficit. This includes supporting effective school resource management in trusts with three-year financial forecasting and developing buying hubs and recommended deals for all schools. We are also continuing to work with local authorities, as appropriate, to help them identify potential financial health issues and support schools. We have worked with them to understand how they work with maintained schools, share good practice and use the financial data available to them.

In particular, the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) have introduced Schools Resource Management Advisers (SRMAs) to provide help and support to trusts and maintained schools. SRMAs are sector experts who will work with schools and trusts to provide tailored advice on how to make best use of their revenue and capital resources, and reduce non-staff spend, to deliver educational outcomes and contribute to whole-school improvement, prioritising those schools which will benefit the most.

In the case of academy trusts, an academy trust having an in-year deficit is not in and of itself a negative thing. Schools can draw on their reserves for a range of planned and sensible reasons, for example, to spend on capital projects or whole-school improvements. This is prudent financial planning and not at the expense of educational delivery. The academies sector is stable with fewer than 2% of trusts subject to a Financial Notice to Improve.

Where an academy trust does require additional support to manage a deficit, the ESFA will work with them to help them reach a stronger position. Where there is a risk to public funds, the ESFA will intervene in a way that is proportionate to the risk and preserves education provision. This can include issuing an Financial Notice to Improve, or in the most serious cases, termination of the Funding Agreement.


Written Question
Truancy: Fines
Wednesday 19th June 2019

Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many parents have been fined as a result of the truancy of their children in each of the last two years.

Answered by Nick Gibb

Penalty notices are issued to parents by schools, local authorities or the police for failing to ensure that if their child is of compulsory school age, they regularly attend the state-funded school where they are registered or at the place where alternative provision is provided for them.

The statistical publication 'Parental Responsibility Measures in England: 2017 to 2018' includes the numbers of penalty notices issued in England in table 1. The release is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/parental-responsibility-measures-2017-to-2018.

The data shows the number of penalty notices issued to parents; if a parent has received more than one penalty notice then each penalty notice would be counted. The number of parents who have received a penalty notice is not available.

Collected information contains reasons for why penalty notices are issued and is broken down by 'unauthorised family holiday absence', 'arriving late' and 'absence due to other unauthorised circumstances'. Data is not collected specifically on the number issued due to truancy.


Written Question
Apprentices: Minimum Wage
Monday 17th June 2019

Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on increasing the apprenticeship rates of the National Minimum Wage.

Answered by Anne Milton

As Minister of State for Apprenticeships and Skills, I work with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the annual remit for the Low Pay Commission (LPC), who are responsible for making recommendations to the government about minimum rates of pay including the Apprenticeship Minimum Wage.

The government implemented in full the LPC’s 2019 recommendations. These included an apprentice rate as well as taking into account the long-term benefits that apprentices derive from training, the needs of employers and individual sectors and wider labour market pressures.

The current Apprentice National Minimum Wage rate rose to £3.90 per hour in April 2019, up from £3.70 per hour. This is a 5.4% increase and the apprentice rate is now at a record high in nominal and real terms. The LPC estimate that this rise will benefit up to 36,000 apprentices.


Written Question
Students: Loans
Tuesday 21st May 2019

Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much money has been repaid to the Student Loans Company in each of the last three years.

Answered by Chris Skidmore

Statistics covering student loans, debt and repayment are published annually by the Student Loans Company (SLC). The statistics are published separately for each government administration. Information on repayments by financial year can be found in table 1 of each of the publications:

https://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/student-loans-debt-and-repayment.aspx.

The next release in the student loans, debt and repayment series is confirmed for 13 June 2019, which will include repayment statistics for the financial year 2018-19.


Written Question
STEM Subjects: Higher Education
Thursday 16th May 2019

Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to encourage students to study STEM subjects at university.

Answered by Chris Skidmore

The department is encouraging more students into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and training at all stages from primary school to higher education. We are improving careers advice in schools so that young people are aware of the high quality options available for both technical and academic routes into STEM. They also have access to information about the variety of careers that STEM pathways have to offer. STEM activities, including employer talks and work visits, are built into school career programmes and the Careers & Enterprise Company funds opportunities for young people to meet a wide range of STEM employers.

As part of the UK’s Industrial Strategy, the government has committed substantial spending on mathematics, digital and technical education to increase the take-up and better teaching of STEM subjects in schools. For example, the department is funding an £84 million programme to improve computing teaching and participation, and the Advanced Maths Premium, which aims to support schools and colleges in tackling some of the financial barriers to increase participation in post-16 maths. We also fund the Stimulating Physics Network and Isaac Physics to improve the take up of physics post-16, especially among girls.


Written Question
Schools: Racial Discrimination
Thursday 16th May 2019

Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to tackle racist behaviour in schools.

Answered by Nick Gibb

Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that outlines measures to prevent racist and other forms of bullying. The Department produces guidance for head teachers and school staff on developing school behaviour policy. The full guidance can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/488034/Behaviour_and_Discipline_in_Schools_-_A_guide_for_headteachers_and_School_Staff.pdf.

Under the Equalities Act 2010, schools are under a duty take steps to eliminate harassment, foster good relations, and advance equality of opportunity.

Ofsted considers how a school complies with its statutory duties and promotes equality of opportunity, and holds schools to account for racism or other behaviour issues.


Written Question
English Language and Mathematics: GCSE
Tuesday 14th May 2019

Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to introduce Essential skills Maths and English for students with lower levels of attainment in respect of the GCSE curriculum.

Answered by Anne Milton

The government recognises the importance of English and maths both in work and everyday life. In England, we want to ensure that pupils benefit from reformed GCSEs, which are the gold standard qualification at 16. The new GCSEs are better at equipping young people with the literacy and numeracy required for further study and employment.

Students in England who leave school without a GCSE grade 4/C or above in English and maths have to continue studying these subjects.

Post-16 students with prior attainment of a GCSE grade 2 or below have a choice of which qualification to study including GCSEs and functional skills qualifications. We are reforming functional skills qualifications to improve their rigour and relevance, as well as improving their recognition amongst employers.


Written Question
Students: Plagiarism
Tuesday 23rd April 2019

Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students had their university degree award rescinded due to cheating or plagiarism in each of the last three years.

Answered by Chris Skidmore

The information requested on degrees rescinded because of academic offenses is not held centrally. In 2016, the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) found there were approximately 17,000 instances of academic offences per year in the UK.

The use of companies that sell bespoke essays to students who pass the work off as their own undermines the reputation of the education system in this country, and devalues the hard work of those succeeding on their own merit.

The government expects that educational institutions do everything in their power to prevent students being tempted by these companies. The most recent guidance from the QAA highlights the importance of severe sanctions of suspension or expulsion if ‘extremely serious academic misconduct’ has been discovered.

On 20 March, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education challenged PayPal to stop processing payments for ‘essay mills’ as part of an accelerated drive to preserve and champion the quality of the UK’s world-leading higher education system. PayPal is now working with businesses associated with essay-writing services to ensure its platform is not used to facilitate deceptive and fraudulent practices in education.

Google and YouTube have also responded by removing hundreds of advertisements for essay writing services and promotional content from their sites.

In addition, the department published an Education Technology strategy on 3 April which challenges tech companies to identify how anti-cheating software can tackle the growth of essay mills and stay one step ahead of the cheats. This strategy can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/realising-the-potential-of-technology-in-education.

We are determined to beat the cheats who threaten the integrity of our higher education system.


Written Question
Education: Parents
Wednesday 17th April 2019

Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department is taking to encourage parents to help their children with their homework and education.

Answered by Nick Gibb

Teachers are best placed to determine the homework that best supports pupils in their education. Whilst parental support is important if their children are to gain maximum benefit, homework is generally designed to foster independent study.

Ultimately, the responsibility for a child’s education is a shared one. Parental involvement makes an important difference, from the very earliest stage. In the early years, parents can support their child’s development through, for example, storytelling, reading or singing together. In the school years, parents should take a full interest in their children’s education. Parents also have an important role in developing their children’s character traits such as conscientiousness, drive and perseverance, to help them succeed both in and out of school.