Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for teachers who have qualified in each of the last three years, (a) how many teachers received SEND training before becoming fully qualified and (b) how many teachers received SEND training after becoming fully qualified.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Information on the school workforce is collected as part of the annual School Workforce Census each November. Information on the number of newly qualified entrants and deferred newly qualified entrants to teaching is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
The Department is committed to ensuring that all pupils, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) can reach their potential and receive excellent support from their teachers.
Alongside excellent teachers, teaching assistants play an important role in supporting pupils with SEND to fulfil their potential in mainstream and special schools.
Information on the number of qualified teachers trained to support pupils with SEND is not collected centrally.
As at November 2021 (latest data available) there were 465,500 full time equivalent teachers working in state funded schools in England. This is an increase of 4,400 since the previous year.
Almost 9 in 10 (87.5%) teachers who qualified in 2020 were still teaching one year after qualification, and just over two thirds (68.8%) of teachers who started teaching five years ago are still teaching.
One of the Department’s priorities is to continue to attract, retain, and develop the highly skilled teachers needed to inspire the next generation.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the announcement of £180 million to improve children’s development in the early years, 20 October 2022, whether the training of 5,000 early years teachers or co-ordinators will be to a level 3 SENCO qualification; how the 5,000 SENCO qualified early years staff will be allocated to schools; how their salaries will be funded; and whether schools will be given guidance on the job descriptions they should use to attract the new 5,000 early years SENCO qualified staff to their schools.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The Early Years Recovery Programme includes funding for the training of up to 5,000 early years special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs), leading to an accredited level 3 early years SENCO qualification. The training is for SENCOs currently working in early years group-based providers or working as childminders. Salaries will continue to be paid by providers themselves or from self-employment as applicable for childminders.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of removing the age restriction of 60 for Student Finance England funding for Undergraduate and Masters Degrees in (a) all and (b) STEM subjects.
Answered by Robert Halfon
All eligible undergraduate students qualify for non-means tested tuition fee loans regardless of their age. In addition, eligible undergraduate students under the age of 60 on the first day of the first academic year of their course qualify for partially means-tested loans for living costs. This applies to all subjects.
The government has a duty to consider the value for money for the public purse of offering a loan product where there is a low expectation of repayment. The department recognises that some older students on lower incomes may need help with their living costs. That is why full-time undergraduate students aged 60 or over on the first day of the first academic year of their course can apply for a fully means-tested loan for living costs, known as a ‘special support loan’, of up to £4,106 in the 2022/23 academic year, increasing to £4,221 in 2023/24.
The upper age limit of 60 years old for postgraduate master’s loans was put in place to ensure that the overall scheme remains affordable to the taxpayer and offers value for money. The age limit is applicable to all subjects and is designed to restrict eligibility to those statistically most likely to continue in long-term employment and be able to repay the loan.
In settling on the current postgraduate master’s loan eligibility criteria, the department consulted widely on the proposed terms of the new loan and considered its duty under the Equality Act 2010. A copy of that analysis can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/526274/bis-16-289-postgraduate-masters-loans-equality-analysis.pdf.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for music lessons in state schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government remains committed to continued support for music education. The Government published the National Plan for Music Education in June 2022 which sets out the vision for ‘all children and young people to learn to sing, play an instrument and create music together, and have the opportunity to progress their musical interests and talents, including professionally’. At the heart of the new plan is the Model Music Curriculum published in March 2021, which sets out how schools can deliver an excellent music education.
The Government recognises the vital importance of every child accessing instruments and equipment they need to make progress with music, including technology and adaptive instruments where needed for pupils with SEND. We therefore also announced £25 million of new funding for musical instruments alongside the Plan. This funding will increase the existing stock available to all children and young people. We will work with schools, hubs, Arts Council England and the wider sector to focus on best practice in managing access to instruments and equipment. We will publish further details in due course.
The Department committed £79 million per year for the Music Hubs programme over three years up to and including 2024-25, which was confirmed with the publication of the Plan. Music Hubs are groups of organisations, such as local authorities, schools, art organisations, community, or voluntary organisations, that work together to create joined-up music education provision and provide specialist music education services to around 90% of state-funded schools. This includes whole class and group ensemble teaching, and individual instrument tuition.
Hubs also ensure that progression routes are clear and affordable, and some hubs provide instrument loans to children and young people to achieve this.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the steps taken to support children and young people from Ukraine adapt to UK schools; and whether her Department has any plans to review the requirement for Ukrainian pupils to take English and Maths’ GCSE exams if they cannot show physical proof of having passed previous similar exams.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is clear that the best place for all children to be educated is in school and that attending school will help newly arrived Ukrainian children integrate into the communities in which they are living. It is the experience and skill of local authorities and schools that provides the support and care necessary for these children as they adjust to their new lives in the UK.
Schools and colleges are responsible for deciding which qualifications they enter pupils for, based on what is in their best interests. Schools will want to carefully consider the individual circumstances of the students before deciding the appropriateness of an exam entry. Exam centres should make these decisions carefully on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the evidential basis is to set the eligibility for student loans below 60 years old for students undertaking a master’s degree; and what assessment he has made of the effect of setting the eligibility of student loans for master’s degrees above 60 on (a) older people seeking to pursue their further education and (b) those retraining later in their careers.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
In settling on the current postgraduate master’s loan eligibility criteria, the department consulted widely on the proposed terms of the new loan and considered its duty under the Equality Act 2010.
The upper age limit of 60 years old was put in place to ensure that the overall scheme remains affordable to the taxpayer and offers value for money. The age limit is also designed to restrict eligibility to those statistically most likely to continue in long-term employment and be able to repay the loan.
The department is closely monitoring take up of the loan and the response by students, the sector and employers. However, at present there are no plans to amend the loan eligibility criteria.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made for staff at complex needs schools to be considered for vaccination alongside their pupils who are on the priority list; and what support is being offered to teachers and teaching assistants in those schools as they have close contact with their pupils who are at high risk and vulnerable to covid-19.
Answered by Vicky Ford
During national lockdown restrictions, special schools and special post-16 settings should continue to welcome and encourage pupils to attend full-time (or as per their usual timetable) where parents and carers wishes for their child to be able to attend (or for post-16s, where the young person wishes to attend). This is because we know that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and their families, can be disproportionately impacted by being out of education. The Department for Education (DfE) has published new guidance on the period during the national lockdown, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak#history.
It is important that staff in these schools continue to be supported. The rapid asymptomatic testing programme will include testing staff, vulnerable pupils and students, and children of key workers, including those within special schools and special post-16 settings. Further announcements on the roll out of testing to staff in primary schools will follow in due course, to help support the reopening of education settings.
As outlined in the department’s published guidance, additional use of personal protective equipment (PPE) for COVID-19 related purposes is only needed in a small number of cases, such as if a pupil or student becomes ill with COVID-19 symptoms and a distance of 2 metres cannot be maintained, or when undertaking aerosol generating procedures. If a pupil or student already has routine intimate care needs that involve the use of PPE, the same PPE should continue to be used. Public Health England have advised that the current guidance on the system of controls, including the use of PPE and face coverings, should continue to be followed.
The PPE portal can be used by residential special settings to access COVID-19 PPE. These providers will have received an email invitation to register with the portal. Depending on local arrangements, special schools and special post-16 settings may be able to access PPE for their COVID-19 needs via their local authority or local resilience forum.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are independent experts advising the government on which vaccine(s) the UK should use and provide advice on who should be offered them. JCVI advises that the first priorities for the COVID-19 vaccination should be the prevention of mortality and the maintenance of the health and social care systems, and as the risk of mortality from COVID-19 increases with age, prioritisation is primarily based on age. This prioritisation captures almost all preventable deaths from COVID-19. In the next phase of the vaccine rollout, JCVI have asked that the Department of Health and Social Care consider occupational vaccination in collaboration with other government departments. The DfE will input into this cross-governmental exercise.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he plans to take to support independent field study centres until 2020 due to the cancellation of residential field trips during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The government has issued guidance on the financial support for businesses during coronavirus (COVID-19). This can be viewed at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/financial-support-for-businesses-during-coronavirus-covid-19.
The Charity Commission has also issued coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance for the charity sector, including considerations and practical steps that charities can take when they are facing serious financial difficulties. This can be viewed at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-the-charity-sector.
The Department for Education continues to advise against both overnight and non-overnight domestic (UK) and overseas educational visits as outlined in the coronavirus travel guidance for educational settings.
In the autumn term, schools can resume non-overnight domestic educational visits. All such visits should be compliant with COVID-19 guidelines and subject to a thorough and ongoing assessment of the risks to ensure that they can be undertaken safely. Schools should consult the health and safety guidance on educational visits when considering any visit.
The above guidance will remain under review, including the position on overnight domestic visits, and will be updated in line with guidance from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for Transport and Public Health England.
The coronavirus: travel guidance for educational settings can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-travel-advice-for-educational-settings/coronavirus-travel-guidance-for-educational-settings.
Guidance for full opening: schools is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.
Guidance on health and safety on educational visits can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-and-safety-on-educational-visits/health-and-safety-on-educational-visits.
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to (a) support pupils in years (i) 10 and (ii) 12 that are not attending school due to the covid-19 outbreak but are due to take exams in 2021 and (b) ensure that the break in the schooling of those pupils is taken into account when assessing the results of their exams.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.
Our latest guidance for schools and colleges is at:
These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.
We have prioritised the return to school of children in reception, year 1 and year 6, and have asked secondary schools and colleges to offer some face to face support for young people in year 10 and year 12 to supplement their remote education. This is because they are preparing for key examinations next year and are most at risk of falling behind due to time out of school or college. From 1 June 2020, we expect that secondary schools and colleges will be able to offer some face to face contact with year 10 and year 12 students. This will not be a return to full timetables or students back in school or college full time, but rather support to supplement students’ remote education.
We have also committed over £100 million to boost remote education, including giving free laptops to year 10 students from disadvantaged backgrounds, alongside care leavers and those with a social worker, to help them learn from home during the lockdown. Additionally, if families of these students do not have good access to the internet, we will provide them with 4G routers so that they can learn online. Students aged 16 to 19 without a suitable device for education may be eligible for support through the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund. The Department will also ensure that every school and college that wants it has access to free, expert technical support to get set up on Google for Education or Microsoft’s Office 365 Education.
In light of the disruption experienced by students in Years 10 and 12 who are due to take exams in 2021, we are working with Ofqual and the exam boards to develop our approach to next year’s exams.