Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2021 to Question 168825 on Languages: GCE A-level and GCSE and with reference to the data in provided in the Other modern languages category for each of the years from 2015-16 to 2019-20, how many entries there were for pupils studying (a) Arabic, (b) Bengali, (c) Chinese, (d) Gujarati, (e) Japanese, (f) Punjabi, (g) Persian and (h) Urdu at GCSE level; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The number of GCSE entries[1] by pupils[2] in all schools in England at the end of Key Stage 4 in Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Japanese, Punjabi, Persian and Urdu between 2015/16 – 2019/20[3] are provided in the table below:
Number of entries | |||||
| 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 |
Arabic | 3,481 | 3,575 | 3,870 | 2,443 | 2,965 |
Bengali | 797 | 718 | 693 | 445 | 454 |
Chinese | 3,575 | 3,654 | 3,629 | 2,190 | 2,774 |
Guajarati | 617 | 503 | 542 | 431 | 144 |
Japanese | 751 | 810 | 750 | 455 | 557 |
Persian | 413 | 400 | 394 | 394 | 132 |
Punjabi | 853 | 827 | 870 | 508 | 646 |
Urdu | 4,005 | 3,797 | 3,800 | 3,038 | 3,317 |
[1] Covers GCSE level entries for the academic year specified in England in all schools. All schools include state-funded schools, independent schools, independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, hospital schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision.
[2] Includes entries and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years and includes pupils who were absent, whose results are pending and results which are ungraded or unclassified.
[3] The latest year figures are revised, all other years are final.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many widowers of female teachers who belonged to the Teachers' Pension Scheme are receiving smaller survivor pensions than they would have received if they had been the widower of a male teacher; and what proportion of those widowers will receive improved survivor pensions following the Goodwin Tribunal; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
There are 12,852 widowers of female scheme members who are, or may be, receiving a pension lower than they would if they were the widower of a male member. All affected widowers have been identified and will have their benefits corrected, with arrears if appropriate, as soon as practicable. The scheme administrator will soon begin writing to widowers who are affected to notify them of the change.
A Written Ministerial Statement following the Goodwin Employment Tribunal case was made on 20 July 2020 by the Chief Secretary to Her Majesty’s Treasury: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2020-07-20/hcws397.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many entries there were for exams in foreign languages at (a) GCSE and (b) A-level by each language in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The number of pupils, in England[1][2], at the end of Key Stage 4, who entered into GCSE by each language between 2015/16 – 2019/20[3] are provided in the table attachment.
We know that employers value languages and they are increasingly important in realising the ambitions of Global Britain. We recently launched a consultation on reforming the GCSE in French, German, and Spanish to make it more accessible. Our £4.8 million pilot led by the National Centre for Excellence in Language Pedagogy at the University of York aims to improve uptake and attainment in languages at Key Stages 3 and 4, and to share best practice in pedagogy.
For A level results of all students aged 16-18 by foreign language subject please see table attachment. Note, the number of A level entries is influenced by the overall population of students at the end of 16 to 18 study, which was around 16,000 fewer in 2019/20 than 2018/19, or a decrease of 2.6%.
In addition, some of the decline in language entries in 2019/20 is due to private candidates, who make up a disproportionate number of entries in these subjects, not being able to get a Centre Assessment Grade.
[1] All schools include state-funded schools, independent schools, independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, hospital schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision.
[2] Includes entries and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years.
[3] Total number of entries include pupils who were absent, whose results are pending and results which are ungraded or unclassified.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to Answer of 23 October 2020 to Question 104028 on Primary Education: Harrow West, how much additional funding for unavoidable costs incurred during the covid-19 outbreak has been disbursed to (a) Hatch End School and (b) other schools in Harrow West; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department has thoroughly assessed all claims to the COVID-19 exceptional costs fund where schools claimed for costs other than the standard categories set out in the guidance and have determined there were no additional categories of extraordinary costs that we are able to reimburse. As a result, the funding Hatch End School and other schools in Harrow West have received from the COVID-19 exceptional costs fund remains unchanged from the figures provided in my answer to Question 104028 here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-10-15/104028.
The Department has opened a second claims window for schools to claim from the fund for any costs that fell between March and July in the same approved categories, for which they did not claim during the first window. Information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/claiming-exceptional-costs-associated-with-coronavirus-covid-19/exceptional-costs-associated-with-coronavirus-covid-19--2.
In addition to this, the Department has announced a new COVID-19 workforce fund for schools and colleges to help them to remain open. It will fund the costs of teacher absences over a threshold in schools and colleges with high staff absences that are also facing significant financial pressures. Guidance on the claims process will be published shortly so schools and colleges have confidence in the costs they can incur and be eligible to reclaim.
To support schools in making up for lost teaching time, there is a £1 billion catch up package for schools, which includes a universal £650 million ‘Catch Up Premium’. An initial payment of the premium (25% of the total) has been made to schools. Data published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-catch-up-premium-provisional-allocations shows that Hatch End School received £18,300 in the autumn payments, and schools in Harrow West received £280,920 in total.
Alongside this, the catch up package includes a National Tutoring Programme (NTP) which will provide additional, targeted support for disadvantaged 5-16 year olds who need the most help to catch up. The programme has two pillars which can be accessed by schools. Firstly, schools will be able to access high quality, subsidised tuition from a selection of approved Tuition Partners. Schools can access information about Tuition Partners here: https://nationaltutoring.org.uk/ntp-tuition-partners. The second pillar supports schools in the most disadvantaged areas to employ in-house Academic Mentors who can provide small group and one-to-one tuition to selected pupils. If schools in Harrow West would like to check their eligibility and register their interest for a Mentor, they can do so here: https://www.teachfirst.org.uk/hire-academic-mentors. In addition to the 5-16 programme, the NTP will provide funding to support small group tuition for 16-19 years olds: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/16-to-19-funding-16-to-19-tuition-fund. The NTP will also provide funding to support an early language skills programme for reception-aged children: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/catch-up-premium-coronavirus-covid-19/the-reception-year-early-language-programme-neli.
The Department will continue to review the pressures schools are facing into next term and what further actions might be needed.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to require his Department and its agencies to provide a payroll deduction service to allow staff to save more easily with a credit union; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The facility to deduct money and send this to a credit union is not currently offered by the Department or its Executive Agencies. However, the feasibility and costs of doing so would be considered if there were sufficient demand.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November to Question 106214 how many and what proportion of pupils in receipt of free school meals have been given laptops in each school in Harrow since March 2020.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As part of over £195 million invested to support remote education and access to online social care, over 340,000 laptops and tablets are being made available this term to support children from disadvantaged backgrounds in Year 3 to 11 whose face-to-face education may be disrupted.
This supplements over 220,000 laptops and tablets which have already been delivered during the summer term. This represents an injection of over 500,000 laptops and tablets by the end of the year.
Laptops and tablets are owned by schools, trusts or local authorities who can lend these to children and young people who need them the most in the event that they experience disruption to face-to-face education due to COVID-19. In many cases, this will be children who are also eligible for free school meals.
Data about the number of laptops and tablets delivered and provided as of 27 August 2020 is published here, which includes those delivered to Harrow Council and trusts in the Harrow region: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/912888/Devices_and_4G_wireless_routers_progress_data_as_of_27_August_2020.pdf.
Information on the devices provided this term to schools, local authorities and academy trusts, as of 23 October 2020, is published here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/929064/Ad-hoc_stats_note_shipped_data_231020_FINAL.pdf.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 7 October 2020 to Question 96748, what recent estimate he has made of the number of disadvantaged (a) primary and (b) secondary school children (i) with and (ii) still without access to appropriate information technology equipment in their homes; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government wants to do everything it can to support schools to deliver remote education. The Department has invested over £195 million to support remote education and access to online social care, delivering over 220,000 laptops and tablets during the summer term for disadvantaged children who would not otherwise have access to a digital device.
The Department is adding to this support by making over 340,000 additional laptops and tablets available to support disadvantaged children that might face disruption to their education. Since September over 100,000 of these have been delivered to schools.
The Department has allocated a number of devices to each school. To arrive at this allocation, the Department used data on the number of pupils eligible for free school meals in each school. The Department expects that pupils’ device needs will be met to some extent by the device endowments of schools and colleges. The Department has used the British Educational Suppliers Association ICT 2019 survey data on the average number of laptops and tablets in primary and secondary schools.
Schools, local authorities and academy trusts are able to request additional devices if their original allocation from the Department does not meet their needs.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 2 October 2020 to Question 94998, how many people took (a) a GCSE and (b) an A-level qualification in the Hindi language in each year between 2009 and 2015.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Hindi is not currently offered at GCSE or A Level. The Department has no record of entries in Hindi at either GCSE or A level in the period 2009 to 2015.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much covid-19-related financial support Pinner Park School in Harrow has (a) applied for and (b) received from his Department; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The attached table shows the claims submitted and payments made for COVID-19 related funding to date for Hatch End High School and primary and secondary schools in Harrow West constituency. The funding shown is from the COVID-19 exceptional costs schools fund and the COVID-19 catch-up premium.
The exceptional costs schools fund first claims window closed on 21 July for costs incurred between March to July 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak that could not be met from their budgets. The payment values in the table relate to those costs claimed within the published scope of the fund (additional cleaning costs arising from confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19, additional premises costs related to opening during the Easter and summer half term holidays and free school meals costs incurred outside of the national voucher scheme). Where the claimed figure is higher than the payment, a claim will have been made which includes costs outside of the published scope of the fund. These claims are in the process of being assessed and we will inform schools of the outcome of this part of their claim later in the autumn term.
The COVID-19 catch-up premium does not operate on an application or claim basis but is a formulaic grant automatically paid to all eligible schools. The values represented in the attached table are the initial payments based on a proportion of an interim allocation calculated using the published rates and school census data from October 2019. The final allocations will be re-calculated once the October 2020 school census data is available and a further payment made in early 2021. The remaining allocation will be paid in a final instalment later in 2021.
There is no data in the attached table relating to the National Tutoring Programme (NTP). The NTP is not yet live and so we do not have any information about participants. We expect our first group of tutors to be working with schools from November, with provision ramping up into the spring term. The Department will announce a list of approved Tuition Partners in November. Schools will be able to approach these partners to access subsidised tuition. At the same time, will also be appointing our first wave of academic mentors, matching suitable candidates to schools that have expressed an interest in working with a mentor.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much covid-19-related financial support Hatch End High School in Harrow has (a) applied for and (b) received from his Department; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The attached table shows the claims submitted and payments made for COVID-19 related funding to date for Hatch End High School and primary and secondary schools in Harrow West constituency. The funding shown is from the COVID-19 exceptional costs schools fund and the COVID-19 catch-up premium.
The exceptional costs schools fund first claims window closed on 21 July for costs incurred between March to July 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak that could not be met from their budgets. The payment values in the table relate to those costs claimed within the published scope of the fund (additional cleaning costs arising from confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19, additional premises costs related to opening during the Easter and summer half term holidays and free school meals costs incurred outside of the national voucher scheme). Where the claimed figure is higher than the payment, a claim will have been made which includes costs outside of the published scope of the fund. These claims are in the process of being assessed and we will inform schools of the outcome of this part of their claim later in the autumn term.
The COVID-19 catch-up premium does not operate on an application or claim basis but is a formulaic grant automatically paid to all eligible schools. The values represented in the attached table are the initial payments based on a proportion of an interim allocation calculated using the published rates and school census data from October 2019. The final allocations will be re-calculated once the October 2020 school census data is available and a further payment made in early 2021. The remaining allocation will be paid in a final instalment later in 2021.
There is no data in the attached table relating to the National Tutoring Programme (NTP). The NTP is not yet live and so we do not have any information about participants. We expect our first group of tutors to be working with schools from November, with provision ramping up into the spring term. The Department will announce a list of approved Tuition Partners in November. Schools will be able to approach these partners to access subsidised tuition. At the same time, will also be appointing our first wave of academic mentors, matching suitable candidates to schools that have expressed an interest in working with a mentor.