Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will reconsider state schools having to pay full business rates compared to the 20 percent business rates that independent schools pay as a result of their charitable status.
Answered by Robin Walker
Local authorities receive funding for business rates through the national funding formula, to meet the full costs of schools’ business rates. This means the costs for local authority-maintained schools’ and academies’ business rates are currently covered by the department and there is no disadvantage to state-funded schools from paying full rates, or advantage from receiving rates relief. The department will pay business rates bills directly to 122 billing authorities on behalf of more than half of local authority maintained schools and academies from April 2022.
Business rates are charged on most non-domestic properties, including schools. Currently, 80% mandatory rates relief is applied to academies, voluntary-aided schools and foundation schools. The majority of special schools also receive full relief because they make provision for children with a disability. In addition, under the Local Government Finance Act 1988, local authorities are permitted to grant relief against the business rate liability to certain charitable and non-profit organisations. Local authorities are able to offer discretionary relief for local authority-maintained schools in their area.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether schools and colleges will be required to collect further evidence of students' work in the event that exams are cancelled in response to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Robin Walker
The government is fully committed to exams going ahead this summer and does not expect that to change except in the unlikely case of a public health emergency that prevents students being able physically to sit exams. However, it is right that contingency arrangements are in place.
For GCSEs, AS and A levels, Ofqual guidance published in November 2021 asked schools and colleges to collect evidence of their students’ performance covering the breadth of content usually seen in exams and assessment objectives. Once schools and colleges have this evidence, they are not obliged to collect any more. They should take a proportionate approach and, where sufficient evidence has already been collected, no school or college is obliged to continue collecting evidence into the summer term.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help ensure children from Gypsy, Travelling and Roma communities are placed with families from their own communities if they are taken into care.
Answered by Will Quince
A child’s background is an important consideration when placing a looked after child. This is evidenced in the law. When making a decision with respect to a looked after child (or one that they are proposing to look after), a local authority must (under s.22 (5) of the Children Act 1989) give due consideration to the child’s religious persuasion, as well as their racial origin, cultural and linguistic background.
When it comes to placing a looked after child, the local authority must give preference to a placement with family or friends as foster carer. Where this is not possible, the local authority must place the child in the most appropriate available placement.
As part of this decision, the local authority must comply with several factors. These include enabling the child to live near their home and not disrupting their education unless this is not reasonably practicable. Whilst a child’s background is important, local authorities have additional factors to consider to ensure the child’s needs and best interests are met.
In relation to foster placements, regardless of whether a child is placed with a foster carer from their own religious, ethnic, cultural, or linguistic background, the Care Standards Act 2000 includes the National Minimum Standards for Fostering. These standards outline the necessity for care providers to ensure children are cared for in a way that ensures a positive self-view, emotional resilience, and knowledge and understanding of their background. This is also covered by reg 17 of The Fostering Services Regulations 2011.
The department has invested in behavioural insights research on fostering recruitment. This is done to test the ways we can support fostering service providers to attract carers able to meet the needs of looked after children locally. This includes increasing numbers of diverse foster parents, notably Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic carers. This will be published in due course.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will increase the number of teachers of the deaf.
Answered by Will Quince
Over 41,000 new trainee teachers were recruited to start training in 2020/21. This is 23% more than in academic year 2019/20.
The department is determined that all children and young people, including those who are deaf or have a hearing impairment, receive the support they need to succeed in their education. It is a legal requirement for qualified teachers of classes of pupils with sensory impairments to hold the relevant mandatory qualification (MQSI). To offer MQSIs, providers must be approved by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education.
It is the responsibility of local authorities, schools, and colleges to commission appropriately qualified staff to support the education of children and young people in their area.
As a result of the Spending Review settlement, the department will make significant investment to ensure all children receive the support they need. This includes:
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when alternative finance to student loans will be made available to students.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
I refer the hon. Member for Putney to the answer I gave on 18 October 2021 to Question 53884.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will review early years funding before the Comprehensive Spending Review.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We keep early years funding and market sufficiency under regular observation and review.
We are making our usual preparations for the imminent Spending Review, which will conclude the government’s funding for 2022 to 2023 and beyond.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether any of his Ministers plan to visit (a) schools, (b) nurseries or (c) colleges in the Putney constituency in the next six months.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Currently there are no plans for any ministers to visit schools, nurseries, or colleges in the Putney constituency in the next six months.
The Department is keen for providers to continue to focus on delivering education for children and young people.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, it has been difficult for the Department to plan visits too far ahead. The Department will review visiting opportunities as COVID-19 restrictions are eased further.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to provide clear facemasks to enable lip reading for deaf children in schools during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nick Gibb
On 10 May, the Department published updated guidance for schools, which included updated advice on face coverings in line with step 3 of the roadmap. The guidance can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.
As the guidance outlines, based on the current state of the COVID-19 outbreak and the positive progress being made, it is no longer necessary to recommend the additional precautionary face coverings measures put in place from 8 March.
From 17 May, in line with step 3 of the roadmap, face coverings will no longer be recommended for pupils in classrooms or communal areas in schools. Face coverings will also no longer be recommended for staff in classrooms. This is supported by Public Health England.
In all schools the Department continues to recommend that face coverings should be worn by staff and visitors in situations outside of classrooms where social distancing is not possible.
The reintroduction of face coverings for pupils, students or staff may be advised for a temporary period in response to particular localised outbreaks, including variants of concern. In all cases, any educational drawbacks should be balanced with the benefits of managing transmission. The Local Action Committee structure (bronze/silver/gold) should be used in such circumstances to re-introduce the use of face coverings. Immediate outbreak response (at the level of individual settings or a cluster of settings) remains for local directors of public health to advise on.
Where face coverings are recommended, our guidance remains that some individuals, including those who rely on visual signals for communication and those who communicate with or provide support to those who do, are exempt from wearing face coverings and the Department expects staff and pupils to be sensitive to those needs.
Where our guidance recommends face coverings, transparent face coverings can also be worn. Transparent face coverings may be effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19. However, the evidence to support this is currently very limited. Face coverings (whether transparent or cloth) should fit securely around the face to cover the nose and mouth and be made with a breathable material capable of filtering airborne particles.
The main benefit from a transparent face covering is that they can aid communication, for example enabling lip-reading or allowing for the full visibility of facial expressions, but this must be considered alongside the comfort and breathability of a face covering that contains plastic, which may mean that the face covering is less breathable than layers of cloth.
Schools have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils and students to support them to access education successfully. The Department has made this point clear in guidance.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of implementing a covid-19 recovery plan for disabled children and their families.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We are committed to helping all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), to make up learning lost as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
We have plans for COVID-19 recovery, which we are continuing to develop. As part of this, both special schools and alternative provision (AP) settings will be able to access funding to provide summer schools and the National Tutoring Programme, and we recognise the additional costs associated with offering provision to pupils in specialist settings. This means that eligible pupils in special schools, special units in mainstream primary and secondary schools and AP settings will attract a higher rate of the new one-off Recovery Premium funding worth £302 million, as well as funding for summer schools. We have consistently prioritised children who attend specialist settings in our Recovery Premiums to schools by providing additional uplifts both in 2020 and in 2021.
Young people with SEND aged 19 to 24 who have an education, health and care plan will be eligible for support via the 16 to 19 tuition fund, where they meet the fund criteria. Providers are asked to have regard to the needs of students with SEND when prioritising students that would benefit most for small group tuition. Furthermore, the proposals to support early language and literacy catch-up will benefit all children, including those with SEND.
£200 million will be available to all secondary schools, including specialist settings, to deliver face-to-face summer schools. Schools will be able to target provision based on pupils’ needs. The size and shape of the summer schools will be decided by school leaders who know best what a most effective summer school will look like for their pupils, allowing them to tailor support for pupils, including those with SEND.
Sir Kevan Collins has also been appointed as the Education Recovery Commissioner. He is considering how schools and the system can more effectively target resources and support at pupils in greatest need.
The department will continue to assess the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent COVID-19 recovery plans on all pupils, including those with SEND, to ensure that it targets support across the system most effectively.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, from what date university students will be able to return to campus and resume in-person teaching as covid-19 restrictions are eased.
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.