Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is his policy to increase the size of student loans in line with the rate of inflation.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
The department is currently reviewing options for uprating maximum grants and loans for the 2023/24 academic year.
Maximum grants and loans for living costs were increased by 3.1% this academic year, and the department has announced that they will increase by a further 2.3% in the 2022/23 academic year.
In addition, we are freezing maximum tuition fees for the 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. By the 2024/25 academic year, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven years.
The 2022/23 financial year guidance to the Office for Students (OfS) confirms universities will continue to be able to support students in hardship through the student premium. Ministers’ Strategic Priorities Grant guidance letter to the OfS asks that the OfS looks to protect the student premium in cash terms for the 2022/23 financial year.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to (a) include anti-racism teaching in the national curriculum and (b) introduce anti-racism training for Ofsted school inspectors.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department condemns and strives to tackle all forms of racial discrimination, prejudice, and harassment. Under the Equality Act 2010, schools have a duty to take steps to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations across all protected characteristics, including between people of different ethnic backgrounds.
As part of a broad and balanced curriculum, pupils should be taught about different societies. This includes learning how different groups have contributed to the development of Britain, and can include experiences and voices of people from all backgrounds. The curriculum offers many opportunities for schools to do this, notably through citizenship education and relationships education. The history curriculum also gives teachers the flexibility to include the contribution of black and minority ethnic history into lessons. This aligns with the school’s duty to promote and foster good relations across all characteristics, including race.
Relationships education is now compulsory in all schools. The relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum has a strong focus on equality, respect, the harmful impact of stereotyping, as well as on the importance of valuing difference. Guidance on the implementation and teaching of RSHE curriculum can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-relationships-sex-and-health. The national curriculum content for citizenship can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-citizenship-programmes-of-study.
Part B of the parliamentary question is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of including the Ukraine Holomodor in the National Curriculum.
Answered by Robin Walker
The national curriculum is a framework which sets out the content the department expects schools to cover in each subject. The department believes teachers should use their expertise to determine how they teach their pupils, and to make choices about what they teach.
Pupils can be taught about the Holodomor in the 1930s as part of the history curriculum, which gives teachers the freedom to use specific examples when teaching about the history of Britain and the wider world. For example, the Holodomor could be taught as part of the statutory key stage 3 theme, ‘challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day’.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the National Curriculum on disordered eating.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department has no plans to assess the impact of the curriculum on disordered eating, but the white paper is clear that ensuring pupils are taught a broad and ambitious curriculum, which also supports their health, wellbeing, and wider development, is crucial, particularly as we recover from the pandemic.
Body image and mental wellbeing are explicitly covered in the relationships, sex, and health education curriculum and, at secondary level, teachers may choose to discuss disordered eating when teaching these topics. Although schools are not medical professionals, it is important that school staff understand eating disorders to inform the pastoral support that they offer to pupils and when to seek specialist support where it is needed.
To support this, the government’s £8 million for the ‘Wellbeing for Education Return’ programme funded advisers in every local authority in England. Further information on this can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wellbeing-for-education-return-grant-s31-grant-determination-letter. This is reaching up to 15,000 schools with free expert training, support, and resources for education staff to help them understand and respond to the mental wellbeing issues faced by children and young people.
The department has provided an additional £7 million in 2021/22 financial year to extend this with an additional focus on directing schools towards the right local support.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will ensure that Education and Health Care Plan forms are available in languages other than English.
Answered by Will Quince
The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) code of practice makes clear that the format of an education health and care (EHC) plan is agreed locally. Local authorities must decide on the languages that EHC plans are available in, depending on local need. The SEND code of practice is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/398815/SEND_Code_of_Practice_January_2015.pdf
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.